Tibetan Health Clinic for Bon-skor Tibetan Village
Date of Report: 15 August 2007
Location: Bon skor Tibetan Village, Bya mdo Township, Mangra (Guinan) County, Mtsho lho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. PR China.
Subject: Health Clinic
Funder: German Embassy
Details:
The German Embassy provided 79,000RMB, local residents gave 20,000RMB; and local government provided 22,000 RMB that built a local clinic that benefits 1,800 Tibetans (360 households). Local government provides salaries for both a Tibetan Medicine doctor and a nurse to work in the clinic. Both are local people, speak the local Tibetan dialect, are versed in local culture, and sympathetic to local people. Ms. Sodnam-skyid, 49, said, “I have been sick for about three years. For two years, I was getting much worse when I took Chinese medicines in the local county town. Later, I took Tibetan medicine and now I’m much better, although I still take Tibetan medicines as I am not completely recovered. When I went to the county town for treatment, I spent another amount equal to the cost of the medicine for travel costs and food in the town. The Tibetan clinic is here and it’s very helpful for our women to take Tibetan medicines, which are also much cheaper.” The doctor actively instructs local people how to prevent such infectious diseases as hepatitis, diabetes, and STDs; the importance of sanitation; the dangers of unprotected sex; encourages the use of condoms, etc., as well as treats local people in the clinic, which is located in the community. Sonthar-rgyal, the local Tibetan doctor said, “I have examined the local villagers’ diseases for several years. Women suffer from disease associated with unprotected sex, poor sanitation, childbirth without seeing a doctor, and so on. Tibetan medicines are significantly helpful for women’s disease and can usually solve these problems in a year or two. It’s been about a month since the new local Tibetan clinic was opened. Many local villagers are coming. Tibetan medicines are helpful and cheap. Besides, I personally talk with the local teenage boys and girls about dangers of unprotected sex.”
