MITHI: At least seven more youngsters died during the past three days in the government hospitals of Tharparkar, raising the toll to 113 this year.

According to an official statement obtained by Dawn from sources in the health department of Tharparkar, the toll rose to 113 since Jan 1 this year. The official document sent by the DHO to his high-ups said 31 kids below five years of the age lost their lives in six health facilities of the desert district in April.

The report added that only three kids died of severe malnutrition so far in Thar while others died of birth asphyxia, severe pneumonia, neonatal sepsis, respiratory syndrome and other diseases.

According to reports, Thar DHO Dr Mohammad Akhlaq Khan on the directions of high-ups of the Sindh government has asked his subordinates not to share details of deaths with local media after the chief justice of Pakistan took suo motu notice of the deaths of five children in the civil hospital on March 15. Dr Khan is of the opinion that media were misreporting the deaths of infants in the desert region.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2017