THARPARKAR: The death toll of children due to malnutrition and epidemics in the Tharparkar region of Sindh continues to climb as five more children died within 24 hours, the health department sources said on Thursday.
Five children admitted in Civil Hospital Mithi expired during treatment, the health officials said. The latest deaths have taken the death toll in Tharparkar in March to 35 and 165 since January 01, 2019.
The deceased included two newborns, a three-day-old child, one aged three months and a four-year-old child.
According to the health department, every year 1,500 children die due to malnutrition, infections and lack of proper medical facilities in the remote region.
Earlier, a report released by the United Nation’s Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in April 2018, stated that Pakistan is among countries with the highest infant mortality rate, with 22 infants dying before turning one-month-old. Among these countries, eight are in Africa and two in Asia, including Afghanistan which is ranked third.
“Pakistan is the riskiest place to be born as measured by its newborn mortality rate,” the report stated. “A baby born in Pakistan is almost 50 times more likely to die during his or her first month than a baby born in Japan, Iceland and Singapore”.
