Another two malnourished children die in drought-hit Thar
Two children died in the area on Sunday
THARPARKAR (Dunya News) – Another two malnourished children on Monday have died taking the toll to 52 in mere 18 days.
A newborn and five-month-old baby girl Hasto Bhel died owing to undernourishment in Mithi’s Civil Hospital.
More than 95 children are under treatment in different hospital in Tharparkar. However, several children have been shifted to Hyderabad owing to critical conditions.
On Sunday, two children died in the area. One-month-old Zeenat in Civil hospital Mithi and four-months-old in Talqa Hospital in Chachro died in drought-hit Thar.
On the other hand, health department has claimed that four teams have been sent to far flung areas.
By January 8, a 15-month-old child Bheem Ram died before reaching Islam Kot Hospital.
Around 17 children had died of malnutrition by the first week of the month and other causes in the Tharparkar area of the southern region of Sindh.
Tharparkar district in the famous Thar Desert spans over 120,000 square miles across the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Though only 15 per cent of the desert lies in Pakistan, high rates of child mortality largely due to acute malnutrition pose a major challenge to the local authorities, humanitarian organisations and civil society groups working in the area.
Reportedly, Civil Hospital in Mithi lacks funding while staffers remain absent and medicines are scarce in the area. Lack of resources has further added to the misery of the locals.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, if the Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate among children and women is above 15 percent, it is to be considered an emergency situation.
