THARPARKAR: Death toll of children dying of malnutrition in Sindh’s Tharparkar region continued to climb as two more infants passed away, health department said on Tuesday.
According to details, two children including a newborn and a three-month-old child expired at Mithi Hospital, Tharparkar.
The latest deaths have taken the death toll in Tharparkar to 137 in the ongoing 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.
Earlier, a report released by the United Nation’s Children Fund 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”.
Published in Daily Times, March 6th 2019.
