ONCE again, mortality among newborn babies in Thar is in the spotlight, bringing with it a concomitant focus on the appalling inadequacies in the area’s health infrastructure.

According to Tharparkar’s district health officer, 13 newborns have died in the first week of this year largely due to causes that should not ordinarily result in death, were it not for lack of awareness and/or prompt and adequate medical care.

A report in this paper on Thursday listed shocking statistics that illustrate the cavalier manner in which the people’s constitutional right to quality healthcare is flouted in the most fundamental ways. About 70pc of government dispensaries in the area are either only partly functional or are being operated on an ad hoc basis without SNEs, that is, without a budget, staff, furniture or other facilities to run it properly, thereby rendering them virtually non-functional.

Out of a total of 256 health facilities in the region, 177 — a whopping 69pc — do not have SNEs. Most patients, therefore, need to make their way to the Mithi civil hospital, which places an intolerable strain on that establishment’s limited resources. A number of doctors’ posts are also lying vacant because medical professionals are reluctant to serve in an area where they cannot profit from private practice that is so lucrative elsewhere.

Thar has historically been one of the country’s most disadvantaged areas, but until about 10 years ago, when the construction of road networks through the district made it more accessible, the deprivation of its population — scattered in rural settlements across its vast arid stretches — did not often get relayed to a wider audience.

Last year, the death of around 350 under-fives in Thar from effects of drought created a furore in the media, even though officials from the provincial government responded by describing the outrage as unwarranted because the figure was no higher than it had been earlier.

There may well be the same excuse proffered this time around, but as the Dawn report illustrates, much of the blame lies with the government’s shambolic planning and management of health infrastructure in the area. There is also an undeniable element of callous indifference.

Late last year, it emerged that of five imported, fully equipped mobile health dispensaries given to the health department in Thar, only three were in service while two were in the personal use of government functionaries. The people of Thar deserve far better.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016