Medical kits meet special healthcare needs in Inner Mongolia

By Yang Hui and Zhao Xinying (chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2016-11-25

A medical kit from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region has attracted representatives' attention during the Ninth Global Conference on Health Promotion, which was held in Shanghai from Nov 21 to 24.

The kit consists of a series of health guide books and more than 20 kinds of medicine for common ailments including coughs and colds. It also contains some basic medical apparatuses such as intelligent blood pressure meters and blood glucose monitors, through which health staff can collect data and monitor people's physical conditions.

Designed by the health bureau of Inner Mongolia's Hulunbuir city, the kit was created to meet the special healthcare needs in the autonomous region.

Inner Mongolia covers an area of more than 1.1 million square kilometers, but has a population of only 25 million. This means it is hard to ensure health coverage in every corner of the region, and that a lot of herdsmen cannot enjoy necessary treatment when they get sick, Li Shicheng, an official of the region's health and family planning commission, who attended the conference, told China News Service.

Almost 100,000 such kits had been handed out as of last year, Li said.

The cost of each kit ranges from 100 to 200 yuan ($15 to $30) and was allocated by healthcare stations free of charge to herdsmen's families within a radius of 5 km.

In addition to the kits, doc-tors also make visits to herds-men families, giving medical advice, bringing medicine to them and updating people's health records, Li said.

During the past five years, the kit has been upgraded several times, from a simple container of medicine to what people receive today.