Pakistan Child deaths Pakistan: Thar records 36 child deaths in one month
Thar, Pakistan: Pakistan's Tharparkar district, an area where a large number of the minority Hindu community members stay, is witnessing a child health crisis as over 36 children have died in the region in the first month of 2022, media reports said.
According to reports, the children have died due to various diseases.
As the largest district in Sindh, and one with the lowest human development index rating, the deaths seem to point towards a severe disparity in access to multiple factors like healthcare, hygiene and nutrition, which has long been a stumbling block for the province, reports The Express Tribune.
A majority of children that succumbed to diseases were either newborns or infants; including eight children from Mithi, seven from Islamkot, six from Diplo, three from Chachro, seven from Nagarparkar, and five from other adjoining areas, the newspaper reported.
The causes of death are said to be linked to issues like maternal complications, and conditions including anemia, pneumonia, measles, and respiratory diseases.
Hyderabad’s Deputy Director-General Health Dr Irshad Memon while confirming the deaths of the 36 children, told the newspaper that the children born in Tharparkar district and its adjoining areas suffer from malnutrition and other complications, including iron deficiency stemming from early marriages.
“There are more than ten children in a family, which leads to malnutrition and hereditary diseases in women and they tend to have severely underweight babies," the official said.
"It is due to lack of education and awareness in Upper Sindh that various medical problems occur in mothers and children, while severe weather conditions also have a negative impact on their health,” the deputy opined, explaining the cause of deaths.
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