MITHI: Representatives of various international and national non-governmental organisations have termed hunger the “mother of all evils” in the world and urged people to play their role in the fight against the curse in Thar.
They were speaking at a conference organised by Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP) in collaboration with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) on Wednesday. The slogan of the moot was “Together we transform, together we succeed”.
Qazi Azmat Essa, ECO of PPAF, said that there was great need to rid the region of the curse of poverty by empowering women through small projects. Thar’s future could be bright only if women and weaker segments of society were empowered through various small steps, he said.
Ms Kathryn Ennis-Cater, team leader of the European Union funded-Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support, said that empowerment of women was the best way to put Thar on the path to modernity and prosperity.
Ms Shandana Khan, CEO of Rural Support Programme Network, stressed the need for acting seriously to eliminate hunger and other curses plaguing Thar region for years.
She said that NGOs alone could not resolve problems and urged the government to make concerted efforts to end crises and overhaul “defunct” institutions.
Richard Blane, country director of Welt Hunger Hife, a German NGO working on malnutrition and hunger, expressed deep concern over unabated deaths of infants and expecting mothers in Thar and observed that soon after media had begun to highlight the dangerous situation both national and international agencies stepped in and started relief work but the government showed little seriousness in delivering to people of the desert.
He said that people in Germany and the rest of Europe were shocked to see pictures of malnourished babies and unhealthy women and men in Thar.
He urged the government bodies to ensure that the mega projects being launched in the area did not create environmental hazards and warned that if remedial measures were not taken in Thar the situation would be more dangerous. Malnutrition was still a big issue of the desert, he added.
Mohammad Qazilbash, country director of Oxfam, was of the opinion that all the core issues of the country in general and Thar region in particular needed special attention both from INGOs and NGOs. The government must step in to help Tharis, he said.
Ms Genevieve Hussain, first policy officer of Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations, urged the government to focus on agriculture to overcome food security issues facing the country.
She said that it was a matter of great concern that with growing population food sources were depleting in Pakistan. Droughts in Thar had wrought havoc in the past and migration of Tharis to barrage areas had been a decades-old issue, she said.
Waheeda Mahesar, director of Zebtech, said that chronic issues of Thar could not be resolved without active participation of women. “Once you give due rights to women in Thar the situation will surely change,” she added.
Dr Allah Nawaz Samoon, CEO of TRDP, said that he was hopeful the situation would soon normalise in Thar with the transformation taking place in the region in recent years.
He said private companies were going to invest in clean energy and home-based solutions for poor families. Their initiatives would certainly help people in Thar, who had been groaning under poverty, hunger, malnutrition and other chronic issues for decades.
Dr Ghulam Haider Samejo, chairman of Thar district council and his deputy Kanwar Karni Singh, assured the NGOs of their help in humanitarian work.
They said the suggestions put forward by experts would greatly help them resolve people’s problems.
Representatives of several organisations of EU, UN, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, Sindh government, elected representatives and people from different communities of the district attended the conference.
Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2017