When she was ready to give birth to her second child, a woman from ChengguanTownship did not think there would be any difference between having her baby at home or in a hospital.

　　Her family asked a local midwife to help her, but she died from a massive hemorrhage.

　　Fortunately, this situation has become more rare since the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region launched a“Safe Motherhood” programme in recent years.

　　Status quo

　　Located in the less developed northwestern area in China, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is an area mostly inhabited by the Hui Ethnic people. About half of its population dwells in eight counties in the southern mountainous region, all of which are national-level poverty counties.

　　Poor economic conditions and a traditional mindset mean many women choose to give birth at home, selecting hospitals only when things become extremely bad.

　　The region was once characterized by low hospital coverage, a high maternal mortality rate and a number of incidences of newborn tetanus.

　　To answer the State Council’s call to commit to the development of women and children, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in 2001 promulgated “the programmes for the development of children and women in Ningxia (2001-10)” and created plans and explicitly defi ned objectives　and measures for the development of women and children. The plans have even been listed as an important part of the region’s economic and social development programme.

　　Since then, government at various levels in the autonomous region have continuously increased the investment in this area. To date, more than 2 million yuan (US$250,000) has been allocated in an effort to lower the maternal mortality rate and incidences of newborn tetanus, and another 1.35 million yuan (US$168,750) of special funds has been allocated to the region’s working committee for children and women.

　　In addition, related authorities conducted a survey of the incidence of anemia in pregnant women, and set up an index accordingly.

　　Regionwide education

　　For an inland area with an ingrained superstitious mindset, it has been far from easy to get locals to accept the practice of hospital childbirth. Local governments initiated a “Safe Motherhood” campaign and various activities to help increase awareness of giving birth in hospital.

　　Brochures for education and communications were sent to each household and post-checks made to see if it was understood.

　　The media, public posters, lectures and meetings have all been used to publicize the new practice.

　　The government has also made a round-the-clock emergency number known to all towns and villages via the postal service, media and bulletin boards.

　　The staff at various levels of the region’s women’s federation have visited villages and towns to educate the locals.

　　When learning that a villager was to have twins and was reluctant to give birth in hospital, Li Xiaohong, who worked for the women’s federation in Taoshan Township of Longde County, visited the villager’s home nine times and fi nally persuaded her to have her babies in hospital.

　　Likewise, Su Zhilin in Haojiaqiao Township and Wang Xiaoyan in Daquan Township, both pregnant women with high birthing risks, preferred to give birth at home because of poverty. After being persuaded by local maternal workers, they both gave birth safely in hospital.

　　In mountainous villages such as Xinglong Township in Haiyuan County, staff of the local women’s federation usually have to travel 15- 20 kilometres to a pregnant woman’s home for education.

　　XiazhaiTownship in XijiCounty organized an escort team in every village to help pregnant mothers in need. As a result, no one in the township has died from childbirth since 1990.

　　“The new equipment in the healthcare centre in my township is so good that we are all willing to have a baby in the hospital,” said a woman from Daquan Township.

　　More importantly, the government allocates bonuses and reduces or exempts the hospital expenses for needy pregnant women.

　　All the efforts have paid off.

　　Statistics from a random 2005 survey show that about 97.5 per cent of Ningxia’s pregnant women had access to healthcare and hospital delivery services. And the maternal mortality rate decreased from 85.78 cases in 2000 to 43.7 cases per 100,000 last year, and the rate of pregnant women undergoing labour in hospital rose from 48.8 per cent in 2000 to 68.01 per cent in 2005.

SHANDONG

Happy family guiding centre

　　A Happy Family Guiding Centre was set up in Guangrao County, Shandong Province, to provide locals of all ages with tailored services.

　　Since its establishment, the centre has held 58 training classes on bridal, eugenics and climacteric. Statistics show that about 1,800 people were under eugenic monitoring and received specific medical examinations by the centre.

　　In addition to healthcare know-how, the centre has also offered information and projects to help people get rich and allocated 150,000 yuan (US$18,750) of supportive funds to those in need.

FUJIAN

Outstanding private school

　　Thanks to its self-discipline and its honesty to both students’ parents and society, ShunchangGoldenBridgeSchool recently won a laurel from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

　　The private school, located in ShunchangCounty in FujianProvince, is designated by the ministry as a nationallevel advanced private, non-enterprise institution in terms of its self-discipline and honest operation.

　　Ever since its launch, the school has invited educational experts to give guidance in the areas of management, education and teaching.

　　A parents’ supervision system was set and is made up of a three-level parents’ committee covering the school, grades and classes. Parents can freely sit in on a class, visit the school, take part in the students’ activities and participate in the school’s management.

　　In addition, the school exposes itself to public supervision by publicizing its recruitment processes and tuition fees. Sticking to the principle of “praising the good, assisting the needy,” GoldenBridge school has over the past two years supported 460 students either by reducing or exempting　their tuition, or by giving them financial assistance, with a total value of 180,000 yuan (US$22,500).

LIAONING

Action to protect IPR

　　In order to help students understand the importance of protecting intellectual property rights (IPR), the cultural, education and other related departments in Jinzhou, in Northeast China’s LiaoningProvince have launched various activities in schools. Students vigorously participated in the IPR protection exhibition, and signed their names on a scroll to show their resolution to say no to porn and other illegal publications.

Building moral education system

By Ying Jia

　　Improving moral education for juveniles in Linshu, a county in East China’s ShandongProvince, is a long-term and arduous task both for the students and the educators, said sources from the local women’s federation.

　　The local authority has always attached great importance to improving juvenile’s morality and tried every means to implement the task with novel contents, new mechanisms and creative methods.

　　A recent three-step move to further the cause seems effective, making self-moral improvement a popular mindset among students.

　　A three-layer moral education network, linking family, school, and society, has been established. The school forges close interaction with parents by building the parent school and imparting parents with family education know-how at a class once a month.

　　Through family visiting activities, teachers, parents and students communicate and exchange ideas　in order to map out development plans tailored to the students.

　　For years, the campaign on embracing science, refusing drugs and reading instructive books has received a positive response from students.

　　The local education bureau and concerned authorities have set up a moral and traditional education committee, comprised of retired cadres who participated in the Chinese national revolution in the past. These veterans give lectures at schools, eulogizing patriotism and traditional merits.

　　Furthermore, every middle school employs a parttime vice-president, who gives legal lectures to students on a regular basis.

《中国日报》2006年11月