MITHI – Hundreds of Tharparkar women gathered in Mithi on Sunday to participate in training workshop on ‘Mother and Child Health’.
The workshop was organised by Thardeep Rural development Programe (TRDP) in collaboration with Pakistan Peadiatric Association and vowed to create awareness among 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 information and experiences during the current situations in Thar in the wake of ravages of severe droughts. They hoped that situations in the desert as far as the deaths of underweight kids and pregnant women could be improved to great extent if collective efforts were ensured from all the segments of the society.
The women informed that by acting upon the advice of the experts even less educated and trained women could play a great role to help lower the death ratio, which according to them, was because of the child marriages, lack of the healthcare facilities at the village level and the unavailability an easy excess to the hospitals in the towns.
They said that Thari women could play their due role to curb the menaces given imparted proper training and awareness to nurture their babies. The women requested organisers and the health experts to spend more energies to guide and train the remaining female in the best interest of Thar, which according to them, was not only desert but rich in various dimensions.
The renowned health experts and consultants from Aga Khan including Dr Chandi Mal Shahani, Dr Muskesh Kumar and Dr Hamrani Lohano during the training before the training sessions said that situations in Thar could easily be controlled by engaging the women and their heads of family by imparting some necessary training sessions. Dr Chandai, said that since he himself a Thari knew the core causes of the situations 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 complications can be cured” he added and urged the participants to make coordinated and sincere efforts to steer Tharis of the crises they were facing.
The PPP MNA from Thar Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani said that the future of Thar was in safe hands and it was transforming despite the natural ravages and drought adding he said that there was the dire need to explore the talent of Tharis especially promote and project the new generations.
The PPP lawmaker urged the activists of various non-governmental organizations, doctors and lady health workers to join hands and provide the maximum relief to Tharis by making the sincere and committed efforts to avoid more fatalities in the desert region.
Dr Allah Nawaz Samoo, the CEO of TRDP speaking during the event said that they had planned to organise to such meaningful events to guide the village women to help curb the menaces of early marriages, reluctance to adopt family planning methods, which had been plaguing the region for decades. He thanked the health experts, large number of the participating village women, members of the civil society and other stakeholders to support his organization to initiate such programes.
DHO Thar, Dr Ghulam Rasool Kumbhar Natho Khan Rahimoon, the district social welfare officer, Kanahi Asnani, Ghulam Mustafa Soomro and others also spoke on the occasion.