KARACHI, March 18: Around half of the health care units in rural areas of Karachi, falling under the administrative control of the city government, are non-functional and many of these have been closed.

According to reports, over 100 health care units in rural areas of the city draw millions of rupees every year from city budget, but allegedly most of this amount fails to reach patients.

Medicines, supposed to be given to the patients are allegedly sold out in the market. Para-medical staff is mostly non-existent, while many doctors at these units are allegedly running their private clinics during official timings and the women health visitors are performing maternity services at their homes.

Ward boys were in many cases working at the clinics and houses of the senior doctors, while frustrated patients have to go to the private clinics for treatment.

According to people living in these villages, the health department officials are patronizing the 'ghost' medical staff, who allegedly pay a part of their salaries to them every month. Staff at these units was drawing medicines in the name of non-functional dispensaries, they alleged.

They claimed that the city health authorities were aware of the rural areas' problems, but despite holding several meeting on the issue they did not take any step to solve their problems.

It is learnt that some basic health-care units and maternity homes are not adequately equipped to handle even routine child births. Many of the maternity homes, for instance, do not have operation theatres, and those that having the facility, often lack safe procedures, causing loss of lives or complications affecting maternal health.

Diseases like cholera, gastroenteritis and dysentery, which are common among the people of these villages cannot be treated promptly, due to inadequate facilities available there.

"Unfortunately, every time such a disease strikes, one is reminded of the inadequacies of the basic health-care units in the rural areas. Besides the obvious medical inadequacies, scarcity of clean drinking water is a key factor in outbreak of an epidemic," Muhammad Haroon, a villager from Keamari Town, said.

Most of the people living in these areas are not only malnourished but they have also to work in unhealthy conditions. As they usually do not have money to go to the city for treatment, most of them die due to lack of health facilities in their areas.

Fever, rheumatism, malaria and stomach problems are the most commonly reported ailments in these areas. The incidence of these diseases is higher among women, it is further learnt. - PPI