Healthcare Program

The Australian team are working towards consolidating the efforts of Doctor Ugyen at Chedershol, in the Tibetan Autonomous Region by establishing his new Clinic, plus, assisting him in creating a network of people in isolated areas to teach them first aid. We will provide a Green House to provide food for his patients.

We are currently mid way through providing new facilities in Suhurong, which is in Minyag, Kham. The building will be finished when the weather improves and a group of students from the U.S. will be visiting the site in June 2011, to install solar panels. The students are using this as a school project and we are looking at other programs where students can take on projects as an end of year program.

Problem: Despite of healthcare efforts being made, most of the rural Tibetans still face enormous challenges due to lack of accessibility, and lack of affordability of basic healthcare. Common health problems in the area where TVP works include tuberculosis, epilepsy, arthritis, chronic respiratory infection, rickets, malnutrition, diarrhea, and other gastro-intestinal problems. In addition, many villagers sustain injuries while working on farms or while taking care of animals that require immediate medical attention. For example, patients sometimes suffer from an infected wound or from a broken leg or arm that paralyzes that person if the broken piece is not properly positioned and treated.

There are four distinct levels of health care facilities available in Tibet: the municipal level, the county level, the township level, and the village level. The quality and accessibility of healthcare at the village level, where about 80% of Tibetans still live, is much poorer than at the municipal level. For example, the municipal level hospitals have CAT Scans whereas many of the village level clinics do not even have a single patient bed. The structure of healthcare in Tibet is currently changing to a community medical system (CMS). In this new system, patients sign up at their community health center and pay a small annual fee plus a co-payment with each visit. This fee basically pays the salary of healthcare workers and buys medical supplies. Unfortunately, most of the rural villages are too poor to build their own clinics and enroll in CMS. In spite of the problems with the CMS system, there are a number of reasons why we have decided to operate the clinic within this system:

CMS is backed by the government.

The villages who are enrolled in CMS receive medical treatment regardless of how many times they see a doctor.

The government provides medical supplies (beyond what we provide) for free or at a substantial discount as long as refills are reasonably based on the number of patients the clinic treats.

Patients who have serious health needs beyond the clinic's capability, such as health problems that require surgery, can be referred to better-equipped hospitals at the county or municipal level.

Our effort: As of now, TVP(A) has assisted in the building of one clinic and secured two clinic spaces from the local government as a way of leveraging the funding and collaborating effectively. In addition, TVP sponsor a mobile clinic program that travels to areas that do not have doctors in residence. Through medical treatment and prevention education, our clinics benefit over 3,200 patients annually. TVP(A) supports the clinics by providing medical supplies, equipment, stipends, and frequent training opportunities for healthcare workers. TVP needs your help to continue our medical program so please consider donating today.