Malnutrition kills two more infants in Tharparkar

THARPARKAR: Two more infants in Sindh’s Tharparkar passed away due to malnutrition during the last 24 hours. The death toll of children dying of malnutrition continues to climb in the region, rising to 20 for this month and 439 for this year.

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.

A report released by the United Nation’s Children Fund in February titled Every child alive: The urgent need to end newborn deaths revealed that Pakistan is among countries with the highest infant mortality rates. Among the countries, eight are in Africa and two in Asia, including Afghanistan which is ranked third.

The report claims that “the risk of dying as a newborn varies enormously depending on
where a baby is born”.

“Pakistan is the riskiest place to be born as measured by its newborn mortality rate,” the report stated.

“For every 1,000 babies born in Pakistan in 2016, 46 died before the end of their first month – a staggering 1 in 22. 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 or Singapore.”