Health officials nominated for Ice Bucket Challenge

A well-known news anchor with China Central Television has nominated the National Health and Family Planning Commission to take China’s Ice Bucket Challenge.

CCTV news anchor Zhang Quanling completes her Ice Bucket Challenge at the home of Niu Qing on Wednesday. Niu was diagnosed of Kennedy’s Disease — a similar disease to ALS. Zhang, as an ambassador of China-Dolls Center for Rare Disorders, wanted to contact a patient with the disease and complete the challenge at their home in order to raise public awareness of the rare disease.

Zhang Quanling put forward the commission to take the challenge in a post on her Weibo microblog account on Wednesday, after pouring ice water on herself to raise an awareness for patients with rare diseases.

An ambassador of charity China-Dolls Center for Rare Disorders that initiated the campaign in China on Monday, Zhang said she challenged the department because the government can promote research and training in rare diseases.

The health commission replied on its Weibo account that it would donate a sum to the China-Dolls center.

It thanked Zhang and other member of the public for caring about patients suffering from rare disorders.

It said the incidence of rare diseases is between 0.65 and 1 per 1,000, but there is often a lack of effective treatment.

“We will continue to work hard to give people with rare diseases more hope and opportunities,” the commission wrote on its Weibo account.

Mao Qun’an, spokesman of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, will make the donation to the center in his own name, the commission wrote.

Zhang said that it was rare for a government department to give such a reply and promise.

“This is the power of the public. The support of the public is necessary to gain any policy support from the government,” she said.

Anyone who accepts the challenge should be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured over them and challenge others.

Those who don’t take up the challenge should donate 100 yuan (US$16.2) to the China-Dolls center.

By yesterday evening, more than 2.5 million yuan had been raised, with 14,000 people participating, according to the campaign’s Weibo microblog.

Wang Sicong, son of Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin, donated 1 million yuan.

Zhang said that the campaign is the most cost-effective charity project that she has ever seen.

The Ice Bucket Challenge was first launched last month in the United States by the ALS Foundation, raising money for research and services for people who have neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.