Health

A doctor examines a baby’s development at a health facility in Kunming City, Yunnan, China.

Save the Children in China works to stop young children dying from preventable causes by:

1. PROVIDING QUALITY CARE

Health workers in remote rural areas must perform life-saving interventions on children in low-resource settings.  We teach doctors to resuscitate babies who are not breathing at birth through our Helping Babies Breath (HBB) program.

We have also improved the capacity of local health workers to diagnose and treat childhood illnesses using the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) approach, jointly developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  IMCI uses preventative and curative measures to reduce illness, disability, and death caused by childhood diseases, such as pneumonia and diarrhoea.  The approach also promotes growth and development in children under five years of age.

Together with local health authorities, we are improving referral mechanisms and communications between community members and their healthcare providers.  We are also using mobile phone technology to improve immunization coverage in Sichuan province.

2. PROMOTING HEALTH KNOWLEDGE

We have established ongoing workshops in rural areas to train village doctors and community leaders about health promotion.  Our trainees develop their own work plans and share their newfound knowledge in their respective communities, using their unique cultural traditions and word-of-mouth communications.  In collaboration with these community leaders, we continue to equip families with the knowledge and practices necessary to ensure child survival.

We have also emphasized the development of culturally-sensitive information tools to educate ethnic minority groups.  For instance, we have helped to produce a collection of health promotion booklets, using original illustrations by a Tibetan artist, to reach out to illiterate Tibetan women.

3. ADVOCATING FOR LONG-LASTING CHANGE

Save the Children brings key government bodies, institutional agencies, and community leaders together to convert national health policy into practice on the ground.  With your support, we can help bring quality healthcare to all children in China.