Medical program kicks off to improve Tibetan people’s health

A large-scale event, with an aim of improving local people’s health and alleviating poverty, kicks off in Diqing Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in Shangri-La, Yunnan Province on Monday.

More than 800 medical professionals participate in this seven-day activity. They represent 27 fields from nearly 340 medical institutions. They will visit 29 local institutions in Deqin and Weixin Counties in Shangri-La.

Ten volunteers from Beijing hospitals will travel to a rural village in Shangri-La, and offer medical care to patients who are either impoverished or very ill.

More than 30 bathrooms have been built to supply local women with regular showers. Infrastructure in over 60 temples in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has been improved since 2014, each now equipped with a bathroom, library, dispensary, and even a gym.

Medicine and supplies worth nearly 12 million yuan (1.7 million US dollars) are donated to Diqing during the inauguration held July 8.

Since 2008, the event has been organized by the Red Cross Society of China Beijing Branch and guided by the United Front Work Department of CPC Central Committee. Some 220,000 medical specialists have participated, helping cure illnesses for 520,000 Tibetans.