CHARLIE YOUNG AND GIGI LEUNG VISIT UNICEF-ASSISTED PROJECTS FOR MOTHERS AND BABIES IN GUIZHOU PROVINCE
In Guizhou's Congjiang County, Charlie Young was moved when she met a severely malnourished five-year old girl who has little opportunity to eat eggs in her daily meals. Yuanyuan (not her real name) had been living with her auntie since her parents divorced and there was never enough money to buy the eggs that she adored. Charlie brought the family eggs and cooked one for Yuanyuan: “Eggs are such a common food in Hong Kong, but they brought a joyful smile to Yuanyuan that makes all the hardships of our journey worthwhile”, she said. In Guizhou Province, the two Ambassadors visited a UNICEF pilot project with the Chinese Government to improve the health and nutrition of mothers The “mother and baby package” combines a series of high-impact and cost-effective maternal and child health interventions aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality and improving development. Guizhou is one of China's very poorest provinces with a population of over 30 million and maternal and infant mortality rates which are higher than the national average rate. Undernutrition rates are equally high and children are frequently much smaller than their ages would suggest. UNICEF has been working with the Maternal and Child Health and Community Health Department of the Ministry of Health on developing a mother and child package of interventions in 50 counties in 13 provinces. The aim is to test and further develop the package for scaling-up in order to achieve a substantial reduction in Maternal and Child mortality.
Xiao Gang (not his real name) is a 15-year old boy who looks more like nine. He spends most of his time by himself at home. When Gigi Leung took him a football to play with, his whole manner brightened; “Coming from Hong Kong it's hard to imagine the situation of children in the poor areas of Guizhou we have visited. They look so small for their age and migration has meant that there are many single-parent families who can neither afford proper nutrition nor medical care for their children”, she said, “and that's why these UNICEF projects are so vitally important”. The two Ambassadors spent four days in the field, seeing at first hand how project activities directly benefit mothers and their babies. Obstetric care and neonatal and safe delivery, care for sick children and the monitoring and promotion of child growth and development are all included in the project. Training is also provided on parenting and child injury prevention in the home, while wider access is promoted to essential commodities such as nutrition supplements and iodized salt.
The field visit to Guizhou was filmed for the purpose of raising both awareness and funding for the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF which has raised ten million US dollars for UNICEF in China over the past five years alone. Ms. Charlie Young, a renowned artiste in Hong Kong and China, was appointed as “Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF Education Ambassador” in April 2004 and was appointed as “Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF Ambassador” in May 2005. She has been actively participating in many advocacies and fundraising programmes organized by the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF. She visited Ningxia to see how children in remote villages of poor regions were suffering and raised funds for UNICEF to help improving the lives of the needy children there. After the tsunami, she has been supporting UNICEF in its recovery programmes. She visited Sri Lanka – one of the worst affected countries, in January 2005 to comfort the victims. Ms. Gigi Leung, a very popular singer in Hong Kong and Asia, was appointed as the "Ambassador of China Children's Health" by the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF in July 2002 to arouse public awareness on health problems faced by the children in mainland China. She was appointed as “Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF Ambassador” in May 2005. In August 2002, Ms. Gigi Leung paid a field visit to Tibet to raise funds for the "China Children's Health Fund". In December 2005, one year after Tsunami, she visited India - one of the worst affected countries, to see the recovery works and bring joy to the children. All her visits were filmed as TV programmes to arouse awareness of the Hong people on the health and medical problems faced by children in the developing countries.
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