SOME time back a disturbing report appeared in the media which said that 10 out of 14 dialysis units at Chandka were found not functioning. Rural Sindh already has meagre healthcare facilities, so the non-functioning of life-saving machines will certainly increase the suffering of patients.

If such pathetic conditions are seen in a large city, then one wonders what will be witnessed in other less significant cities and towns.

Owing to the worsening state of public health organisations, now the people have no other alternative except to seek private medication. Of late, there has been mushroom growth in private clinics, pathology laboratories, and they are fleecing the public on their terms.

The general condition regarding sanitation is far from satisfactory in towns and villages across Pakistan. What I observed in Larkana during a day’s stay there in the summer of 1989 still remains a bitter memory. No sooner did night fell that swarms of mosquitoes invaded the city for feeding on human blood.

The invasion continued until sunrise.

The host made the best efforts to make me feel comfortable by switching on an airconditioner but frequent power failure did not allow the room temperature to cool down even for a short while.

S. BUKHARIKarachi