THARPARKAR: The toll of children dying of malnutrition in Sindh’s Tharparker region continues to climb as three more passed away in the past 18 hours.
The Sindh health department said the deaths took place at Civil Hospital, Mithhi with the deceased including two newborns and a one-year-old child.
The recent deaths of three children take the death toll in Tharparker to nine for this month and 375 this 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.
A report released by the United Nation’s Children Fund in April stated that Pakistan is among countries with the highest infant mortality rates, 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.”
