Karachi:
Hogar of 2.4 million children under five years of age, Karachi faces an alarming shortage of pediatric intensive care facilities (UCIC) and facilities of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (UCIN) in their government hospitals.
In eight important public hospitals in the city, there are hardly 2,200 beds, 126 fans and 309 incubators in pediatric rooms and emergencies, which are unfortunately inadequate given the child population of the city. These limited facilities are available at the Karachi Civil Hospital, the National Institute of Children’s Health (Nich), the Lyari General Hospital, the Liaquatabad Hospital, the Qatar Orangi Town Hospital, the Government Hospital of Sindh Nagan Chowrangi, the Government Hospital of Sindh New Karachi and the Children’s Health Institute of Sindh Korangi.
Due to the insufficient amount of beds and equipment, children with serious conditions are often rejected, pushing desperate parents towards private hospitals. However, the cost of private health is beyond the reach of most families. Admission to a private Pediatric ICU often requires an early payment from RS1 to 2 Lakhs, while the daily cost of the ICU care varies between RS50,000 and RS100,000. In addition to this, parents must support the cost of medications and surgical supplies separately.
Maria, a mother of Nifowrangi, lamented that child treatment had become unavailable for most parents. “Five years ago, a pediatric consultation costs RS500 to RS800. Now, pediatricians charge RS3,000 to 5,000 per visit. In Gulshan-E-Iqbal, doctors charge RS2,000 for a five-minute consultation, and blood tests cost another RS2,000 apart from RS1,500 for the medication.
Similarly, Iqbal, Father of Arham, five years old, shared that he spent more than 7,300 RS7,300 in just two weeks while treating his son’s fever. “The money was spent on the doctor’s rates, tests for malaria, dengue and typhoid, and prescription medications. I won RS1,200 per day as a factory worker and I had to take three days off. This brought the total financial coup around RS10,000,” Iqbal said.
Professor Dr. Waseem Jamalvi, president of the Pakistan Pediatrics Association (Sindh), declared that diseases between children increased due to lack of vaccination and breastfeeding consisting for two years. “These lead to a low immunity, development problems and greater vulnerability to infections. The treatment of children has become excessively expensive at a private level, with an average of 10,000 RS30,000 loaded by the episode of treatment,” said Dr. Jamalvi.
In all Sindh, especially in rural areas, there is a serious shortage of Picu. In many government hospitals, two or three children are admitted in a single bed due to lack of space. Despite the annual budget increases, a substantial addition has not been carried out to the number of pediatric beds in decades. The current neonatal mortality rate in Sindh is 2.9 percent, that is, 29 out of 1,000 newborns die due to complications.
In many Sindh districts, there are no functional UICU. In the few available facilities, there is a lack of specialized pediatricians, trained nurses and support personnel. With 10.2 million children under five years old, 17 percent of the 60 million population of Sindh, there is an urgent need for emergency pediatric care.
According to Professor Dr. Jamal Raza, former director of Nich, Pakistan has not been able to reduce his neonatal mortality rate, with 40 out of every 1,000 newborns who die from complications such as premature birth, infections and respiratory difficulties.
“Maternal Malnutrition, Lack of Prenatal Care, and UNSAF Sindh.
