The 8th stop of the Healthy China Tour: Entering Xishuangbanna, Yunnan to Prevent and Control Poverty and Share Health

In the winter of 2023, Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation and Xishuangbanna jointly agreed to join hands to fight the disease thalassemia. After a year, Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation traveled thousands of miles to make an appointment and came to this beautiful place again.

From December 21st to 22nd, the Xishuangbanna Station of the "Healthy China Tour" was officially held, and a number of hematology experts from Shenzhen Children's Hospital were organized to go to Jinghong City, Menghai County and Mengla County in Xishuangbanna PrefectureCarry out free clinic activities and conduct in-depth exchanges with local grassroots doctors to help local hospitals improve their ability to diagnose and treat thalassemia.

Build love for land poverty and help Yunnan

Thalassemia, referred to as "thalassemia", is a hereditary hemolytic anemia caused by the reduction or complete loss of globin peptide chain synthesis due to gene mutation or deletion, which is listed by the World Health Organization as one of the six common genetic diseases that endanger human health, seriously threatening the life and health and quality of life of patients, and also bringing a heavy mental and economic burden to families and society.

Data show that there are about 345 million people in the world who are carriers of thalassemia genes, and about 30 million people in China. Affected by latitude, geography, ethnicity and other factors, Yunnan is one of the top ten areas with a high incidence of thalassemia in China, and the carrying rate of thalassemia gene is relatively high, among which the southwest and local ethnic minorities are the high-incidence areas of thalassemia.

In 2018, Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation officially launched the "Love Thalassemia Action", focusing on the disease thalassemia, focusing on poor and severely ill children, aiming to promote China's "zero thalassemia" through "rescue + prevention".

After the official launch of the thalassemia campaign, a rescue center was set up in Yunnan, a province with a high incidence of thalassemia, and successively cooperated with Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Dongguan Taixin Hospital, Yunnan Provincial First People's Hospital, the 920th Hospital of the PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Kunming Children's Hospital and other medical institutions to continue to help patients with thalassemia in Yunnan.

The picture shows the scene of the free clinic at the Xishuangbanna Station of the Healthy China Tour held in November 2023.

Xishuangbanna's "Warm Winter Appointment"

On the basis of years of continuous assistance to children with thalassemia, Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation will officially launch the "Healthy China Tour" series of activities in 2023, organizing authoritative experts to go deep into areas with high incidence of thalassemia to conduct free free clinics and screenings, actively help children with thalassaemia, and let more people understand thalassemia knowledge. At the same time, the activity also cooperated with the health department and authoritative hospitals to organize and carry out training on thalassemia prevention and control for grassroots medical personnel, promoted the systematic learning of thalassemia professional knowledge of grassroots doctors, improved the diagnosis and treatment level of grassroots medical institutions, and helped the government to carry out the implementation of thalassemia prevention and control.

As Xishuangbanna is located at the border, the cost of seeking medical treatment is high, in order to help local children with thalassemia get timely diagnosis and treatment, and help the local government improve the comprehensive prevention and treatment capacity of thalassemia, November 7, 2023Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation, Xishuangbanna Prefecture Health Commission, Shenzhen BGI Co., Ltd., and Shenzhen Children's Hospital signed a cooperation agreement to actively treat local children with thalassemia and provide support for the improvement of local thalassemia comprehensive prevention and control capabilities.

The picture shows the signing ceremony between Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation and Xishuangbanna Prefecture in November 2023.

Since the signing of the cooperation agreement one year ago, Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation has funded 16 thalassemia children from Xishuangbanna to undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, with a subsidy of 490,000 yuan.

Recently, Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation came to Xishuangbanna again as scheduled, which is the eighth stop of the Healthy China Tour series of activities, and the second time that the series of activities have entered Xishuangbanna. Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation once again led a team of medical experts to Xishuangbanna to carry out free clinic activities in Jinghong City, Menghai County and Mengla County, and rushed to this warm appointment in winter.

The event was co-sponsored by the Health Commission of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation and Beijing Charity Foundation, and undertaken by Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Menghai County Maternal and Child Health Hospital, and Mengla County Maternal and Child Health Hospital, and Shenzhen Children's Hospital provided support for this event.

Expert free clinic, all-round care for children with thalassemia

The scene of the free clinic in Jinghong City.

At 9 a.m. on December 21, the thalassemia free clinic in Jinghong City, Healthy China was held in Xishuangbanna Maternal and Child Health Hospital. At the free clinic, a number of experts from the Department of Hematology and Oncology of Shenzhen Children's Hospital jointly provided professional and comprehensive medical services for children with thalassaemia.

Menghai County free clinic site.

On the afternoon of the 21st, the expert team of Xishuangbanna Station of Healthy China Tour came to Menghai County Maternal and Child Health Hospital to carry out thalassemia free clinic activities.

Mengla County free clinic site.

On the morning of the 22nd, the expert team of Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation and Xishuangbanna Station of Healthy China Tour came to Mengla County to carry out thalassemia free clinic activities in Mengla County Maternal and Child Health Hospital.

Under the guidance of medical staff and volunteers, more than 200 children with thalassemia and their families participated in the three thalassemia free clinics. The experts of Shenzhen Children's Hospital patiently provided diagnosis and treatment services for each patient, inquired about their symptoms and past medical history in detail, carefully examined the body, reviewed relevant medical records and examination lists, and gave personalized treatment suggestions according to the specific situation.

Children at the free clinic.

In this event, a team of experts from Shenzhen Children's Hospital had in-depth exchanges with doctors from Xishuangbanna Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Menghai County Maternal and Child Health Hospital, and Mengla County Maternal and Child Health Hospital to help local hospitals improve their ability to diagnose and treat thalassemia.

For children who meet the criteria of the Zhuai Thalassemia Initiative, Jingyan Foundation will further follow up on their treatment and provide financial support according to their condition and family situation to help them complete hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and postoperative rejection treatment.

Towards "zero thalassemia".

Promoting the prevention and eventual elimination of thalassemia has always been the long-term goal of the Thalassemia Initiative. As one of the earliest public welfare organizations in China to carry out assistance for children with thalassemia, Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation adheres to the principle of "rescue + prevention", actively sponsors children with severe thalassemia to undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, rescues children with severe postoperative rejection, improves the popularization rate of relevant scientific knowledge in areas with high incidence of thalassemia, and helps local governments to carry out thalassemia prevention and control. Promote the eventual elimination of thalassemia in China.

The project has completely covered the provinces with a high incidence of thalassemia in Chinese mainland, carried out more than 115 activities such as thalassemia knowledge education and grassroots doctor training, and funded more than 1,300 children with thalassemia major to undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and postoperative rejection treatment53 million yuan.

In 2023, Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation will upgrade the "Zero Thalassemia Plan" to provide financial and technical support to local governments and promote the provision of free thalassemia screening, diagnosis and medical intervention services for people of marriage age and childbearing age in areas with high incidence of thalassemia. Xishuangbanna is one of the first areas to carry out the pilot of the "Zero Thalassemia Program", and Jingyan Foundation will continue to carry out active relief in the area, and provide more support to the local government as much as possible to help improve the comprehensive capacity of local thalassemia prevention and control.

"Zero thalassemia" is the long-term goal of the Action to Build Love for Thalassemia, and it is also the direction of the efforts of Beijing Jingyan Public Welfare Foundation. We look forward to working with more caring partners to help more families with thalassemia overcome thalassemia, help local governments accelerate the prevention and control of thalassemia, and promote China's early realization of "zero thalassemia". (ENDS)