The majority of people who live in the remote Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture region of Western China are nomadic and they migrate seasonally in small family groups. Its isolation means that very few people have access to healthcare or education facilities.
Most pregnant women have no idea about their due date and do not know to look out for potential problems, such as the position of the baby. Travelling to the nearest hospital can take several days which means if there are complications during birth, the chance of survival for both mother and child is low. The number of children lost during pregnancy and childbirth is estimated to be one in four.
Children in Crisis China
Children in Crisis is working to improve health awareness and reduce the needless loss of babies and mothers in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of China.
Midwife Training – Since 2004 Children in Crisis has been working with local partner Jinpa to deliver a Midwife and Basic Health Training programme to young nomadic and semi-nomadic women. Since 2004 150 midwives have been trained and returned to their villages as midwives and health workers, where they help to deliver babies safely, whilst also educating their communities on basic hygiene, health and sex education.
Health Education - Children in Crisis and Jinpa have run a Health Education Programme in Nangchen to promote health and hygiene in these remote communities. The workshops, aimed at school children, teenagers and adults and run during the summer months, address one of the biggest problems in the region –the lack of even basic knowledge about health and hygiene, which too often leads to poor quality of life and needless deaths. During the summer of 2010 we reached 11,491 people, including children, men, women and teachers.
