Health Standards in Washuk are Besieged by Cruel Forces of Negligence, Low Staff, Inefficient Administration and Illiteracy

Dr. Musadiq Aziz Essazai
aziz_musadiq@yahoo.com

District Washuk is located in south west of Balochistan province, have a total area of 33.093 square km. it is one of the biggest districts in Balochistan. It had a total population of 129,747 according to census of 1998. It is facing serious social and economic problems. Literacy rate is very low and basic rights of life are not available to people. In this modern era of Information and Technology, electricity, bank, mobile service, DSL is some of the major problems which this district faces. Besides this, unstable and incompetent governmental departments are causing discontent in public. Yet now, no serious efforts have been taken to bring Washuk at par with other districts.With vast area and dispersed population, poor health facilities, lack of awareness and communication facilities, insufficient number of hospitals and vacant posts in them have made district most backward with respect to health in region. According to government sources and official report, district Washuk has one District Headquarter Hospital, one Rural Health Center, nineteen Basic Health Units, fifteen civil dispensaries and one MCHC.

Washuk has seven male doctors, two female nurses, 25 midwife, two hundred eighty four paramedical staff, thirteen health visitors, one hundred forty lady health workers which are less to provide health facility to poor people.

According to MICS 2010 report, Antenatal Care is 29 percent, 89% birth cases occur in homes, only 11% are attended by trained health workers, mortality rate of one year children is 8.8% and 11.2% children do not see their 5^th birthday, each 18535 people have one doctor, 64874 people have one female nurse, 457 people have one paramedical staff, 3707 people have single bed, 20760 people have one lady health worker. 7% population uses iodine salts. Female literacy rate is less than 6%.

Along with district health department, PPHI, National Program for Family Planning, TB control Program, Extended Program for Immunization (EPI), Malaria Control Program is working in district. There is only one private hospital and no NGO is working to develop health standards there.

In established hospitals, insufficient number of doctors is a big problem. The posts of doctors in district headquarter hospital, rural health center and basic health units are vacant. There is no specialist doctor, dental surgeon, lady doctor in whole district. Services for child and mother health care are unavailable. MNCH is partially active with one center.  Private maternity home and clinics are unavailable.

Complications of delivery and mother mortality are high. Lack of awareness about mother health care, lack of family health planning, absence of midwife and malnutrition of mothers, untrained birth tenants, inaccessibility and unavailability of baby care services, Hypertension, infection and illness after labor are main causes of this mortality. During pregnancy and after child birth, females are not checked up.

During labor complication cases, ambulance service is not available to take them to nearby city. Nutritional disease and respiratory diseases are common in district. United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) has not been initiated in district. Performance of PPHI is unsatisfactory in district. There is absence of male and female support groups, school health sessions, community health sessions and health hygienic programs. In BHUs, microscope, glucometer, haemometer, typhoid and malaria kits are unavailable for normal medical tests. People go to other districts to conduct these basic tests. Hospitals have destroyed buildings and have no electricity and telephone services.

There is no proper managements for preventive vaccination of children from communicable diseases that is why the ratio of the communicable disease is high as compared to other districts. According to the demographic and health surveys, the children are found to be weak from malnutrition and cannot fight infection. Shortage of medicines and labor rooms is another big problem which hospitals face.

If we put a glance at malaria control program, annual parasite incidence is 4.3% in Washuk and it should not be more than .0005% (according to WHO standards). Same is case with falciforms.

 According to TB control program, case detection rate is 82% and treatment success rate is 86%. Extended Program for Immunization (EPI) provides vaccines for six communicable diseases. The ratio of preventive vaccination is very low especially TT2 is 8% while BCG, DPT, influenza ratios are also disappointing. Lack of awareness of public towards vaccination is also a cause of it. Performance of National Program is not different from above. No medical camp had been held here since 2010 to help poor people. Hepatitis is a common disease there. No group is working to control hepatitis and AIDS.

Sheikh Zayed Bin Nihyan hospital of Basima is partially functional. Hospital ambulance is damaged. Laboratories of hospitals have lack of instruments. Doctors and paramedical staff have no accommodation facility.

In this predicament situation, poor people of Washuk are suffering serious health problems. Yet now, no concrete measures are under consideration. Disparate efforts are needed to solve health problems. MPA and MNA have to take this at priority. Provincial Health Department of Balochistan must give attention to it. Community has to play its role and make a momentum to sort out a way for problems. Interpersonal communication (IPC) is very important for success of immunization program; we have to realize the role of workers, vaccinators, lady health workers, community volunteers, as front line communicator. They can play a pivotal role in increasing awareness. Political leaders from different parties of district Washuk have to understand problems and take health problems at priority. Sense of motivation, passion and quest of knowledge should be created in public about health. This can be achieved via school health sessions, community health sessions.
                                                         

Deplorable Situation of Education in Washuk, Balochistan

By: Dr. Nouroz Khan Essazai

Washuk was notified as a separate district status on 4^th June 2005, Formerly it was a Tehsil of District Kharan. Area wise district Washuk is the third largest district in Balochistan and covers an area of 33.093 sq km. its projected population is 129747. Consists of 3 Tehsils viz Basima, Mashkel and Washuk and 9 union councils. It is 464 km away in the southwest of Quetta, Sharing its boundaries in the southwest with Panjgur, Khuzdar in the east, Chaghai, Kharan in the north and Iran in the west. Main ethnic group in the district is Baloch. The district has one provincial assembly seat PB47 and combined constituency of Kharan, Washuk, Panjgur, NA271. The district is famous for groves of date palms.

     Washuk has remained as one of the neglected districts of Balochistan with respect to developmental activities and is facing serious funding constrains to carry out its activities. In order to bring it par with other districts of Balochistan, serious measures have never been taken and has not remained on developmental preference of provincial as well as federal government.

    District Washuk’s backwardness is multidimensional. Illiteracy, unavailable of electricity, unavailability of banks and mobile services in this era of technology and unstable district governmental departments are one of the genuine concerns. Along with other problems the scattered population of District does not have access to educational facilities. Some key findings and brief highlights of educational departments are as follows.

     According to BEMIS 2010 statistical report, there are total 160 schools for the population of 129747, 141 are primary schools (boys 111 / girls 30), 12 middle schools (8 boys / 4 girls), 7 high schools (Boys 6 / 1 Girls) thus Washuk has the least no of schools in Balochistan. The number of enrolled students is very low. Teacher pupil ratio shows that there is one teacher for 30 boys and one teacher for 76 girl’s in primary schools. There are 60 adult literacy centers which were running by NCHD, and are now non functional. 36 community schools are being operated by BEF.

     Basic infrastructure facilities portray an alarming picture. Statistics reveals that 15 primary schools are still without building, 104 are without boundary wall, 111 are without toilets, and 41% have no water facility. Same is the condition of middle schools, 6 middle schools are still without boundary wall, and 4 have no toilet and water facility. 2 high schools are without boundary wall.

    There is only one girl’s high school in the district and one Boys Inter College at Tehseel Basima, which is still without building and infrastructure. Number of permanent lecturers is three in college. Literary rate of females is less than 6%. There is no private college in the district and three private schools are working in Basima on selfhelp.

Major educational problems: Various problems regarding educational backwardness include very insufficient number of educational institutions, infrastructure problems, severe deficiency of SST (S) and SST (G) at middle and high schools, unavailability of science labs, computer labs, deficiency of exam halls and absence of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, no scouting programs. Furthermore old school buildings have not been renovated. Along with this, unavailability of transport and conveyance facility for district educational department, particularly for students of Girls high school Basima who come from far flung and remote areas. It is necessary to mention that reserved seats of district’s huge population at different professional colleges are less, and are not equivalent to  district deserved quota. In continuation with these, another issue is the non functional and abandoned technical workshop at boy’s high school Basima.

  Political influence is one of the most important factors, which has polluted, ruined and damaged the educational setup. Teachers are recruited and appointed on political grounds instead of merit. The district education officer is selected with same procedure, due to this evil, there is no strict supervision and monitoring of school, this is why that syllabus is never completed in governmental schools. Drop out percentage and ratio at Washuk district is very high as compared to other districts of Balochistan for following reasons.  Boys drop out is due to late schooling age (9-10), as they reach the age of adolescence, due to poverty parents consider they should help them.  

Girls discontinue their education due to sever deficiency of educational institutes. It can be assessed from this that there is only one Girls High School at Basima and no College for girls in the district.

          Serious notice and immediate, special attention should be given on backwardness and deplorable, situation of Washuk, and practical measures must be carried out by education department, Elected representatives, NGO’s can play an important role in uplifting the educational standard of Washuk.