Daily Times

THARPARKAR: Several hundred women from as many as 38 union councils of Tharparkar gathered here on Sunday in Mithi to participate in the training workshop on mother and child health, organised by Thardeep Rural development Programe (TRDP) in collaboration with Pakistan Pediatric Association and vowed to create awareness among other Thari women to save the lives of both newborns and expecting mothers.

Women from remote villages of Chhachhro, Dahli, Khensar, Nagarparkar, Diplo and other areas  gathered and shared their experiences in drought-hit Thar. They hoped that situation in the desert, as far as deaths of underweight kids and pregnant women is concerned, could be improved if collective efforts were ensured from all the segments of the society of Thar.

The participants informed that by acting upon the advice of the experts, less educated and trained women could play a great role to help lower the death ratio, which according to them, was because of child marriages, lack of the healthcare facilities at village level and lack of easy excess to hospitals in towns.

Renowned health experts and consultants from Aga Khan including Dr Chandi Mal Shahani, Dr Muskesh Kumar and Dr Hamrani  Lohano attended the workshop and said that situation in Thar could easily be controlled by engaging women and their heads of family by imparting necessary training sessions.

Dr Chandi said that since he himself was a Thari, he knew the the core causes of the situations that have emerged in the recent years in the desert region. He claimed that the situations were not as worse as being portrayed by media and some surveys conducted by different agencies during past few years. “You can easily control the situations in this modern era when every chronic complication can be cured,” Chandi added.

Dr Shahani said such workshops would greatly help Tharis to put an end to child marriages and prevent usage of the outdated and dangerous methods during the delivery of the babies. He observed that instead of creating so much hype on the death of underweight kids, the need of the hour was that all stakeholders should sit together and educate the people about family planning.

Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA from Thar Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani said that the future of Thar was in safe hands and the region was transforming despite natural ravages and drought. He highly lauded the efforts of the organisers for a wonderful session which atttracted large number of village women. The PPP lawmaker urged various non-governmental organisation (NGO) activists, doctors and lady health workers to join hands and provide maximum relief to Tharis.

Mahesh said the PPP government in Sindh was playing active role to provide relief as well as approaching remote villages with teams of doctors so that all ailing and aged expecting mothers could get required healthcare.

TRDP CEO Dr Allah Nawaz Samoo said the organisation had planned to organise such meaningful events to guide the village women to help curb the menaces of early marriages, and overcome reluctance to adopt family planning methods.

He thanked health experts and participating village women, members of the civil society and other stakeholders to support his organisation to initiate such programmes. Dr Samoo said that they had undertaken the task to create awareness among Tharis and bringing the stakeholders on the same page to devise plans to bring some positive change and to prevent the fatalities being reported daily due to various complications from one of the most vulnerable areas of the country.

DHO Thar Dr Ghulam Rasool Kumbhar lauded the efforts of the village women. He said that due to early marriage, mothers were giving birth to babies weighing 8 hundred kilograms, who he said could nowhere be treated and lives could not be saved. Natho Khan Rahimoon, the district social welfare officer said that the region needed such events at a time when it was getting through severe drought.  Kanahi Asnani, Ghulam Mustafa Soomro and others also spoke on the occasion.