It was not new scene for the hospital staffer that a lady in her early twenties lying on the hospital bad on white sheet with pale face and faded eyes and her relatives were crying around the bad. Twenty three years old Sabhgi Rajar lost her life after struggling for three days and nights in the hospital. She got married seven months before and was four month pregnant and all of sudden she started bleeding after getting some gynecological problem and was brought from a small desert village of Tar Thorohaoo of Achhro Thar(white desert) to civil hospital Khipro. She was there for three days and nights but she could not survive. Her father sold his only cow to shift her from her villager to this hospital and for her treatment but she died despite his all efforts.
Her family was not the alone but about 400 families of the patients visit daily to this only state-run hospital of sub division Khipro suffer of the administrative negligence. There are 12 Basic Health Units (BHUs) and 2 dispensaries for the 327000 human population of Khipro sub division and Taluka hospital Khipro is only state run hospital for such huge human population. The interest of the government towards such large population could be gauged from the fact that there is not a single ambulance for these people. About 400 patients visit this hospital every day but there is not a single specialist doctor is in this hospital. According to the hospital record civil hospital Khipro has sectioned 40 lower staff of grade 1 to grade 15 but 22 staffers were sent on deputation to Sanghar to serve Zila Nazim and EDO of different departments. There are 15 sectioned posts of specialist doctors for this hospital but right now not a single doctor in this hospital.
Beside the lack of staffers and doctors there is no pathology laboratory in this hospital which was built in late 50s. Not a single machine is available in this hospital for cardiac patients, head injuries and neurosurgery. Averagely about 6 patients of dog bite visit daily in this hospital but they are sent back as there is no vaccination for dog bite in this hospital.
The major share for the annual budget goes to the salaries of the doctors and staffers, whereas patients are sent back without treatments. The district government Sanghar’s record reveals that the annual budget for civil hospital Khipro is Rs.48 million but huge part of that amount goes to the salaries of the doctors and other staffers and for the purchase of medicine only Rs.1.5 million allocated for civil hospital Khipro but against such lesser amount for the purchase of medicine only Rs.0.95 million were released in 2008, according to Medical Superintendent civil hospital Khipro Muhammad Iqbal Qaimkhani.
If this amount used for the 150,000 patients then every patient would get treatment and medicine of Rs.342 but actually every district government allocate Rs.30 for the treatments and medicine of each patient because civil hospital received only 25 percent (which is Rs.4.5 Million) from the total annual budget of Rs.48 million to provide the treatments and to buy medicine for 150,000 patients.
If the annual allocation Rs.48 million for the health sector is divided among total population of sub division Khipro that is 327000 then each citizen would get Rs.14.67 that means state is providing Rs.14.67 to each citizen of Khipro Taulka to buy medicine, conduct pathological tests and other treatments annually.
The allocations of these funds for these 150,000 patients in the annual budget of district government Sanghar is much less then the allocation for salary and non-salary allocations for Zila Nazim, Naib Nazim, DCO, EDO Finance and Revenue secretariats which was Rs.60.619 million.
According to the official documents provided by Aftab Ahmed Abro, Incharge Sindh Devolved Social Services Program (SDSSP) district Sanghar in the annual budget 2007-08 district government Sanghar allocated Rs.11.457 Million for the salary and non-salary allocations for Zila Nazim Secretariat, Rs. 5.066 Million for Zila Naib Nazim Secretariat, Rs. 8.335 Million for District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sanghar Secretariat, Rs.31.289 Million for EDO Finance Secretariat, Rs.4.472 Million were allocated for EDO Revenue Secretariat.
Sindh Devolved Social Services Program (SDSSP) is special program to improve the conditions of health and education at district level, but SDSSP has reduced the annual allocation by 50 percent in annual budget 2007-08. The official documents of SDSSP disclose that SDSSP allocated 44.6 percent of the total budget for the health sector in the annual budget of 2005-06 that was reduced by almost half of the total allocation and in the annual budget SDSSP allocated 23.618 percent of the total allocations. When this scribe asked the reasons behind such reduction SDSSP incharge district Sanghar Aftab A. Abro was unable to satisfy this correspondent.
After reducing water level and fresh potable water Khipro is on the high risk of abdominal diseases and also the administrative negligence pushed the masses of this agricultural rich sub division of Pakistan to face these diseases. The recent appearance of polio case in this subdivision has multiple the total polio cases in the province.
Beside these tragedies the women and children of this subdivision are at the high risk. According to UNICEF the birth facilities in Sanghar district is on the top in Sindh province and the percentage of births in facilities increased from 8.7 per cent (2002) to 18.5 percent in 2007 which was 5.1 per cent in 2000.
Provincial government must initiate survey to find out the ground realties that how the people of this area suffer in absence of budget for health sector and the international donors must asked government of Pakistan the reasons behind poor health care facilities for this district. Provincial government must force SDSSP and district government Sanghar to raise the annual budget for Taluka Hospital Khipro.
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