Yet along with relief materials, education for medical practitioners is needed. "The UNICEF assistance is welcomed, but training should also be given to the doctors and nurses, as many descriptions are written in English," observes Chen Rongjiu, vice chairman of Shifang Red Cross Society.

Other forms of medical aid are still in great demand. Medicines and other operational and sterilizing facilities are badly needed, as much equipment was buried under the rubble. At the same time, problems created by the earthquake have intensified the demand for other medicines. For instance, the occurrence of anaemia among women and children is now higher in Sichuan than nationwide.

Psychological support for children is another focus. Wei Yingying, the Chinese representative of UNICEF, calls for more psychological care to be provided to children, whom he says are more vulnerable to post-quake trauma. A survey by UNICEF China shows that more than 5,000 children are now living apart from their relatives in quake-hit parts of Sichuan.

"Their protection should be listed as a top priority," she says.

Nationwide, the Ministry of Health is formulating a blueprint for the reconstruction of health services in Sichuan, and MCH facilities will be a major focus.

Meanwhile, the Sichuan Department of Health hopes to provide each county at least two or three obstetric tables and a modest medical building in which to perform basic operations.

Chen Shichao, the new mother, says that she never expected that she would give birth in a Buddhist temple, on a day doctors in Sichuan were racing to assist victims of a natural disaster that took 70,000 lives and left more than 18,000 missing.

(China Daily July 23, 2008)