Karachi:
Home to 2.4 million children under five, Karachi faces an alarming lack of pediatric intensive care (PICU) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) facilities in its government hospitals.
Across eight large public hospitals in the city, there are almost 2,200 beds, 126 fans and 309 incubators in pediatric wards and emergencies, which are evil inadequate considering the city’s childhood population. These limited facilities are available at Civil Hospital Karachi, National Institute of Child Health (Nich), Lyari General Hospital, Liaquatabad Hospital, Qatar Hospital Orangi Town, Sindh Government Hospital Nagan Chowrangi, Sindh Government Hospital New Karachi and Sindh Institute of Child Health Korangi.
Due to the inadequate number of beds and equipment, children with serious conditions are often turned away, pushing desperate parents against private hospitals. However, the cost of private healthcare is beyond the reach of most families. Recording in a private pediatric ICU often requires a advance of RS1 to 2 lakhs, while the daily cost of ICU care varies between RS50,000 to RS100,000. On top of this, parents should carry the cost of medicine and surgical supplies separately.
Mary, a mother from Nipa Chowrangi, complained that child care had become prohibitive to most parents. “Five years ago, a pediatric consultation costs RS500 to the RS800. Now, pediatricians charge RS3,000 to 5,000 per visit. In the Gullhan-E-IQBAL, doctors RS2,000 charge for a five-minute consultation and blood tests cost another RS2,000 from RS1,500 for medicine. A single disease can cost up to RS5,000,”
Similarly, Iqbal, the father of the five -year -old Arham, shared that he spent over RS7,300 in just two weeks while treating his son’s fever. “The money was spent on the doctor’s fees, testing for malaria, dengue and typhoid and prescribed medicine. I serve RS1.200 per day as a factory worker and had to take three days off. This brought the overall financial hit to around RS10,000,” Iqbal said.
Professor Dr Waseem Jamalvi, President of Pakistan Pediatric Association (SINDH), stated that diseases among children increased due to lack of vaccination and consistent breastfeeding for two years. “These lead to low immunity, development questions and higher vulnerability to infections. Children’s treatment has become too expensive at the private level with an average of RS10,000 to the RS30,000 charged per treatment episode,” Dr. Jamalvi.
Across Sindh, especially in rural areas, there is a serious lack of picus. In many government hospitals, two to three children are granted in a single bed due to lack of space. Despite annual budget rises, no significant addition has been made to the number of pediatric beds for decades. The current neonatal mortality rate in Sindh is 2.9 percent-it is 29 out of every 1,000 newborn doors due to complications.
In many districts across Sindh there is no functioning picus. In the few facilities available, there is a shortage of specialized pediatricians, trained nurses and support staff. With 10.2 million children under five years of about 17 percent of Sindh’s 60 million population, there is an urgent need for emergency pediatric care.
According to Professor Dr. Jamal Raza, former director of Nich, has not been able to reduce his newborn death frequency, by 40 out of every 1,000 newborns who die from complications such as premature birth, infections and difficulty breathing.
“Mothers malnutrition, lack of birth care and uncertain homemade delivery, especially in the rural areas of Sindh, are among the most important guilty. In many rural areas, incubators are not available, even for Nikresnik, 75 incubators, civilian hospital has 36 per cent. Raza.
