Relief Appeal For Drought and Famine ridden Affectees of Thar

Around 175,00. Thar families have left their homes, heading towards other districts and around 135 have been reported dead {Reports from Mithi Hospital}. Tharparkar's water reservoirs are nearly all dry and the shortage of food is critical. What is more, the health facilities in the region are far from satisfacory. Large numbers of livestock have also perished due to the severe climatic conditions. Every living soul in Thar, no matter what age or gender,  is victim of this devastating drought and famine, ravaging the area. One can see the corpses of those who have died of hunger and thirst while carcasses of animals are scattered everywhere. Reports received from Diplo, Chhachro, Islamkot, Dahli and Nagarparkar suggest that many poor Thari families were moving to barrage areas along with their livestock. Relatives of the patients admitted to the hospital in Mithi complained that its administration was not providing medicines and they were forced to buy expensive drugs which are out of their reach.

It is reported that many lactating mothers in various parts of the province have been unable to produce milk for their children because of  poor diet, while there are chronic epidemic and pandemic diseases in the province. A human catastrophe looms over Sindh because of poor sewage systems, sanitation conditions, malnutrition and the unavailability of potable water and medicines in hospitals, dispensaries and basic health units. It is not as if the phenomenon of drought in Thar has come out of the blue; the region experiences drought every two to three years. Yet planning ahead for such extreme climatic conditions should have been state's priorities

At the moment what the community requires is dry ration, medicines and clean water. HOPE, an NGO in Pakistan, plans to provide relief in the affected region by providing free of cost medicines, setting up medical camps and distribution of food items. It is an open request to all organisations, individuals and communities to come forward and help people of Thar through HOPE's 

relief activities

It is the need of the hour to learn from this debacle and ensure such catastrophe does not occur again.