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Emergency update:
In
response to the cyclone in Burma, and earthquake in China, Health
Unlimited is currently assessing whether and how we are able to respond
and add value to the aid efforts currently on the ground. We work in
both countries but do not have operations in either of the regions
affected. We are exploring whether and how we could help our partner
organisations to assist survivors, particularly in the long term
reconstruction efforts.
Background
 China
has greatly improved the quality of life of its people over the past two
decades, lifting 200 million people out of poverty. The economic reform program since 1978 has been the main vehicle for this
progress.
Despite
these achievements, major challenges remain. Over 100 million
people live in absolute poverty in China so poverty remains a major
challenge for the Chinese Government and poverty alleviation is one of
its highest priorities. Today, it is the most populated country in the
world, with 1.2 billion people
and
providing health services for all of them remains a difficult task.
What are we doing to address these
issues?
Health Unlimited first began working in China
in 1993 (red on map below). In 1996, we also began our long standing work in the
Yunnan province (blue on
map below) and in
2003 in
Mid-West China (yellow on map
below). These
projects have now both recently ended achieving great progress.
Following on from these successful projects, in 2006, Health
Unlimited (as
the only Non-Governmental Organisation)
was
invited by the Ministry of Health in China to
design and implement a joint pilot project for malaria prevention and
control in some areas of the China-Burma border
for floating people.
The project areas
included two border counties, Cangyuan and Menglian,
in
the Yunnan province of China and the north of Special Region 2 of Shan
State, Burma. The project covered 20,000 floating people and 430,000
local ethnic groups in some areas of the China-Burma border.
The project
played an active role in establishing an information exchange process
for those dealing with epidemics, capacity building on malaria treatment and improving service
accessibility of malaria prevention and treatment for local people in
these areas.
Focus
on Malaria
Our current project is focusing on malaria, HIV and AIDS in China.
Health Unlimited cooperates with the Global Fund on Malaria in China and
is responsible for community health education on malaria control and
treatment in 14 border counties between Burma and the Yunnan province of
China.
The
next phase of our work on Malaria with the Global Fund will begin in July 2007.
The project is reaching 3 million people in the Yunnan Province of China
and 500,000 people in 4 special regions controlled by local ethnic
minority authorities in Burma. 33% of malaria cases in China are from
the Yunnan province and about 70% of these cases are along the
province's border with Burma.
Activities include outreach work to
provide services for mobile workers and residents in remote areas, door
to door health education, development of anti-malarial drugs and of
a tool kit (including bed nets, drugs and health education materials)
for frequently mobile Chinese workers on their way to Burma.
Funding partners:
Global Fund
Read about our involvement with a "Stop AIDS"
campaign in China on
World AIDS Day 2007
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