Mithi: Non-functional Taluka Headquarters (THQ) hospitals in District Tharparkar is disallowing screening of malnutrition, thus affecting ongoing provincial Nutrition Support Program, Daily Times learnt Saturday.
Rs 4 billion program started in 2015 and will last in 2018. Apart from Tharparkar, there are nine districts where program is underway including Umerkot, Badin, Sanghar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot, and Kashmore.
There are two components of the program covered, which include Sindh Government’s lady health workers and uncovered areas covered non-governmental organizations.
Health And Nutrition Development Society (HANDS) who started working in Tharparkar recently covering 130, 000 uncovered population of the district, says it is facing problems while referring complicated cases to Secondary Hospitals for screening for treatment since there was only one hospital in the district where malnutrition could be treated.
“There is only District Hospital Mithi where malnutrition could be treated since Taluka Headquarter Hospital (THQs) are not functional,” said Chief Executive of HANDS-Pakistan Dr Sheikh Tanveer Ahmed while talking to Daily Times. “Since cases would have to travel to go to other nearby districts, therefore this is going to be main cause of deaths among malnutrition cases,” Dr Tanveer told.
