Health or death for China's mountain children(3)

"In the past, the children were not brought to us until they had difficulty breathing, passed out or developed a twitch," she said. "Now they come at earlier stages of their illness."

The number of children died in the hospital from pneumonia, dropped from four or five per year before 2009 to one or two now, she said.

Medical workers also taught villagers basic health knowledge and first-aid skills.

"Now most of them know that they should wash hands before dinner," said Padma Khamtrul. "This is a big progress. Five years ago, most only washed their faces once a week."

Khamtrul also told villagers to use oral rehydration salts in case of diarrhea, which they can make themselves with sugar, water and salt.

UNICEF figures showed the fatality rate of children under five in China has dropped from 61 per thousand to 12 from 1991 to 2013. The rate was down by 71 percent in cities and 80 percent in rural areas.

"The government of China should be proud of its accomplishments, especially for children," said Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF representative to China who just wrapped up a trip to Liangshan. "Its rapid progress in building an economic foundation that has lifted millions of people out of poverty, reduced under five mortality by three quarters...is unprecedented in world history."

CHALLENGE AND SUGGESTION

But it is too early to celebrate the progress. Old habits die hard, and the lack of doctors is still a haunting problem.

Tashi Yang, head of the health bureau of Muli, told Xinhua that they used to have more than 100 village doctors, 60 of whom had acquired medical license.

"But the licenses have expired now, and they failed to pass the exam to get a new one, hence are now unable to prescribe medicines," he said.

While lobbying for proper vaccinations, UNICEF is cooperating with local health authorities to train medical workers on prevention and management of pneumonia and other diseases.

Talking about the old traditions, UNICEF health specialist Dr. Zhu says culturally appropriate communication strategies can pay big dividends in health education.

"In the past Tibetan villagers would always lose their immunisation record," Zhu said.

"We then put a photo of the Panchen Lama inside the record book. None of the villagers lost them again."

"Similar measures should be taken in teaching parents how to take care of their children."

For Han Jianying, the experience of potentially losing her son has already taught her an unforgettable lesson.

"I will try my best to make sure that he doesn't eat anything not clean," she said.

"Hopefully he will work hard in the future and be a knowledgeable man. Then he will not make the mistakes I did."