the lowest ranking of any district in Sindh. Tharparkar also ranked among the ten worst districts for HDI growth between 2005 and 2015. Poverty The UNDP's Multidimensional Poverty Index for Pakistan reports that 87% of population in Tharparkar live under poverty. Due to Tharparkar's poor conditions, including its low HDI and high infant mortality rate, a monitoring commission was formed to oversee the Sindh government's administration of the district. The Benazir Income Support Programme and the United Nations' World Food Programme agreed to take steps to reduce food insecurity in Tharparkar. In 2019, Pakistan was provided with US$362,000 and 4,727 mt of food assistance. As a part of humanitarian efforts, 287,000 families in Tharparkar each received 50 kg of wheat 12 times. Additionally, 500 houses were provided to house Thari people. 750 small-scale water plants were constructed in the district at a cost of Rs 7.5 billion. The Thar Foundation, a joint venture of the Sindh government and Engro has planned to build a 250-bed hospital at a cost of Rs 2 billion in Tharparkar. The first 82-bed block was completed in February 2019. Despite humanitarian initiatives by provincial, federal and international authorities, the region has seen little improvement, especially in its infant mortality rate, which sees around 1,500 children die annually. Between January and October 2019 84 infants died, while in total, 703 children died. In 2016, the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) directed the Sindh Chief Secretary to submit a report on cases of infant mortality. According to Saeed Ghani, Sindh's minister for Local Government, Public Health Engineering and Rural Development, and Katchi Abadies, a mobile app was introduced to assist with the distribution of wheat. However, no such app was actually created, and the system continues to rely on XLS/PDF files, and web resources, that weren't widely distributed. According to legislator Mahesh Kumar Malani, Rs 15 billion has been spent for development projects in nine years and further development plans worth Rs 18&nsbplbillion are under way to improve the situation in Tharparkar. According to the Chief Minister of Sindh Rs 70 billion has been spent on the development of infrastructure. The government's Benazir Income Support Programme has transferred Rs 387 billion since 2008. Despite these efforts, the living standard index of Tharparkar has fallen by 50% between 2005 and 2015. Although Tharparkar has been affected by drought for at least 17 years, and has been a