162 children die in four months in Pakistan's Tharparkar

Inadequate medical facilities, clean drinking water, malnutrition and other complicated diseases has led to the high rate of deaths among children

Around 162 children have died in Pakistan's Tharparkar district in southern Sindh province in the last four months due to inadequate medical facilities, clean drinking water, malnutrition and other complicated diseases, officials said.

According to a briefing given by District Health Officer Dr Arjun Kumar to Deputy Commissioner, Tharparkar, Shahzad Thaheem, the children below the age of five years died due to serious complications.

He said in the past four months at least 245 children with serious complications were referred from hospitals within Mithi area of the district.

According to the report, in past four months, around 39,795 children were brought to hospitals and clinics of the district out of which 4,123 were admitted.

While 162 children died during treatment, 245 others were referred to other hospitals of the province, it said.

Social worker Dr Sono Khangarani claimed that more than 90% of those children referred to hospitals in Karachi and Hyderabad died on their way to the hospitals.

Officials say that a drought-like situation in Tharparkar, unavailability of clean drinking water, inadequate medical facilities and medicines, including shortage of doctors and paramedics, had led to the high rate of deaths among children and infants.

The areas of Mithi, Diplo, Islamkot, Chhacchro, Nagarpakar and others in Tharparkar are facing a drought-like situation.