Within the remote communities of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Yushu TAP), Western China, the number of babies lost during pregnancy and childbirth is estimated to be as high as one in five. The number of women who die giving birth is also unacceptably high.

One of the biggest problems for the communities of Yushu TAP is the lack of healthcare. 85% of the population are nomadic herders. There is a hospital in each of the County towns but this can be several days horse-ride from the remote communities. The hospitals do not have any electricity, have limited medicines, equipment which has fallen into disrepair and few trained doctors and nurses.

The lack of health education also poses a serious threat to the safety and well-being of mother and child. In an area where less than 1% of women can read or write, knowledge of pregnancy, and the possible complications that can arise is absent, nearly 98% of women have no knowledge of their due date. As a result, medical help for problems is not sought before the birth and women and babies die.

What We Are Doing

Since 2004 Children in Crisis has been supporting local partner, Jinpa, to run a midwife training programme in Yushu TAP. Young Tibetan nomadic and semi-nomadic women from remote communities are trained to become midwives and basic health care providers for their communities. The women attend eight months residential training at the Yushu County Medical School where they also learn basic literacy skills.

This training is interspersed with periods back in the young women’s communities where they put their new skills and knowledge into practice with support from Jinpa. This gives a chance for the women to be introduced to their communities and educate them on basic hygiene, health and sex education. In particular it is an important opportunity for awareness to be raised about HIV and sexually transmitted diseases which are increasing and becoming more widespread. The women also receive follow-up training and supervision to give them a forum in which to exchange experiences and any problems.

Our training programme has been a great success:

• Between 2004 and 2007 we trained 100 young women from Dritog and Qumaleb Counties.
• In December 2009 50 young women also graduated from Nangchen County, one of the poorest and most deprived area in Yushu TAP.

Working within their communities these young women have gone on to attend numerous births, assisted the sick within their villages and given help and advice to hundreds of pregnant women. The value of the knowledge and support that these midwives have brought to their communities is unquestionable.

“the villagers trust me and women feel calmer to have me there when giving birth. I think teaching women simple first aid techniques is very valuable as medical help is so far away. I am certain that simple things will save lives.” - Sonam, Trainee Midwife

Our Work Continues

Since Nangchen County is so vast and the people are extremely spread out we want to train more midwives so that everyone can access professional help and advice. In March 2010 a further 22 young women from Nangchen County began their training but after only six weeks of training the course was postponed because of the devastating earthquake that hit Jiegu on 14th April 2010.

It is in this context that in July 2011 we were delighted to be able to bring the 22 young women back to Yushu town to continue the training that was disrupted in such a distressing way last year. Their training will take place in temporary facilities as the medical school has not been re-built.

The trainees were involved in community health workshops run by Children in Crisis and Jinpa in Nangchen County last year (which was far enough from Yushu Town for this work to take place) and were therefore able to strengthen the knowledge and skills they developed during the training before the earthquake. Our local partner Jinpa was extremely encouraged to discover when they visited the young women to re-arrange their training that they had already used this learning to hold health awareness discussions within their communities.

An important element of the programme, and one that makes the work sustainable, is the agreement with the local government that they will pay an annual salary to the midwives once they have been trained by us. The role that Children in Crisis and Jinpa plays is essential as midwives would not otherwise have been provided to these remote communities. With the shocking loss of infant and maternal life this could not be an option.
 

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE CLICK HERE.

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