Covering 600 kilometers in western China

In September 2012 five UNICEF National Committee Directors visited remote counties in Qinghai Province to learn about UNICEF’s programmes up close. They are: Steen Andersen of the Danish Committee (centre back), Irene Chan of the Hong Kong Committee (middle, second from left), Stefan Stefansson of the Icelandic National Committee (back right), Ken Hayami of the Japan Committee (front, third from right) and Jovita Majauskaite of the Lithuanian National Committee (front, second from right). 

Over two grueling days the five visiting Executive Directors of UNICEF National Committees cover a trail of some 600 kilometers in a sparsely populated mountainous region of western China. Their itinerary includes altitude differences from 1,800 meters to nearly 4,000 meters.

The visit coincides with the monthly training session given at Ashinu Township Hospital. Crammed into a tiny room, 12 village health workers sit in rows and attentively follow a demonstration on mixing micro-nutrient supplements into infant weaning foods given by hospital doctors.

The village health workers in this Hui minority-populated county are all male, in their 40s or 50s. They are the cornerstone of China’s rural health service. They receive minimal formal medical training, so they are often called "barefoot doctors".

The organization of the township hospitals and village clinics has greatly impressed Ken Hayami of the Japan Committee.

"It is magic!" exclaimed the wife of the village health worker of Chu’er village after the image started materializing, showing it to her three girls. She gazed at the picture with disbelief.

In the four households visited, every mother has a booklet that will record her clinic visits before and after the child is born, as well as the child’s vaccination record. The booklet is also an easy-to-use educational tool for rural mothers, filled with color pictures and simple instructions.

UNICEF supported establishment of maternity waiting rooms in township hospitals. Combining with the government’s hospital delivery subsidy, the county’s hospital delivery rate has increased to almost 100%, making home birth nearly extinct in remote Hualong county.

After a punishing 90 minute drive on rural dirt roads, they arrive at Jinyuan Township where UNICEF is part of a joint UN programme to improve the quality of education for remote ethnic minorities.

A special focus on the joint programme is integration of ethnic minority culture and traditional customs into the classroom. Committee Directors are ushered into tiny classrooms where teachers write elegant Tibetan letters on the black board.

Several smiling girls with bright rosy cheeks are eager to see how they look like in their traditional silk robes - commonly worn in Tibetan households.