Pakistan : Several health units in Thar shut as unpaid staff stop work
MITHI, Aug 23: Health workers including paramedics, nurses, and dispensers who were recruited by the Sindh government around 14 months ago to run healthcare units in remote villages of Thar have
stopped performing their duties as they remain unpaid.
Around 298 health workers, despite continued protests even before the former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, have still not been given dues for the past 14 months, and have thus stopped reporting to their health units.
As a result, most of the dispensaries in the villages have also ceased to function, forcing people to take their ailing children and patients to town by hiring vehicles.
District Health Officer, Tharparkar, Dr Chandar Lal, told Dawn that he was trying his best to persuade the finance department to release funds for the salaries. He also claimed that despite non-payment of salaries, almost all workers were still serving in their respective dispensaries.
Dr Lal also said that the 250 remaining posts would be filled soon.
He added that he had requested media to highlight genuine issues of the area and positive activities of the health functionaries, who according to him, were serving selflessly.
CEO of Health and Nutrition Development Society (Hands) Dr Shaikh Tanveer Ahmed spoke about the need to revamp the entire healthcare infrastructure in Thar to avert further fatalities of minor children and pregnant women.
He observed that it was the need of the hour to address the issue of malnutrition on priority basis in the desert region, and enforce laws against child marriages.
Dr Ahmed said that his organisation was launching massive plans to improve nutrition, adding that he requested other NGOs to step up to help the people of Thar.
He hoped that the recent rains might improve the situation in Thar. There was a great need to focus on other issues of the area, he said, especially on how to generate power for the whole country from Thar coal field.
Published by Daily Dawn on Aug 23, 2016
