Poverty Alleviation by Red Cross Society of China

　　【Overview】  The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) is a humanitarian social relief organization. As the government’s right-hand force in the field of humanitarian assistance, over the years, the RCSC has carried out a series of disaster relief and reconstruction work in the disaster-prone areas and provided large-scale medical aid and education assistance to impoverished areas. Taking it as the tenet to "protect human life and health", it has continuously carried out the activity of "Love of Red Cross to Ten Thousand Families", participated in the construction of rural cooperative medical system, made unremitting efforts to improve the living conditions of vulnerable groups in poverty-stricken areas and provided sustained and effective assistance to help needy masses in disaster areas and poor regions to recover the production and life and improve their living conditions and health level, making a contribution to the maintenance of social stability and protection of people's health, and has become an important force for building a socialist harmonious society.

　　In recent years, the RCSC cooperated with the government to carry out a series of humanitarian relief and medical assistance activities in disaster-hit regions, impoverished areas and minority areas to spread the spirit of the Red Cross of "humanity, fratenity and dedication". According to incomplete statistics, from 2005 to 2010, RCSC and Chinese Red Cross Foundation supported the construction of 4,198 hospitals and community health centers nationwide, rescued 13,406 poor patients with congenital heart disease and 3,920 leukemia patients, trained 2,586 rural doctors and supported the construction of 2,431 Red Cross libraries, which met the immediate need of many poor families, improved the living and health conditions of impoverished regions and played an active role in improving people’s livelihood and promoting social harmony.

　　Disaster preparedness and relief work is the first basic function mentioned in the "Red Cross Society of the Republic of China" and an important part of the poverty alleviation work of RCSC. In 2010, many natural disasters occurred, including large-scale snowstorms, floods, typhoons and other common disasters. Southwest areas were hit by droughts, Yushu suffered a severe earthquake and Zhouqu suffered a rare debris flow disaster. The post-disaster restoration and reconstruction in Wenchuan also entered a critical period. The RCSC developed overall planning and made rational arrangements for the humanitarian relief work in disaster-prone areas and invested a total of 2.63 billion Yuan of funds and materials for emergency relief and post-disaster reconstruction.

　　【Emergency relief】 Bearing the heavy task of disaster relief, RCSC promptly launched the emergency response and, according to the actual needs and storage conditions of disaster-hit areas, allocated disaster relief funds and materials. As of the end of December 2010, it had provided assistance, relief materials and funds for 27 affected provinces for nearly 190 times, allocated materials and funds of 92.23 million Yuan (excluding reconstruction funds) to the disaster-hit areas and completed the annual emergency relief task. In the disaster relief period in Yushu, RCSC sent three emergency rescue teams to Yushu, including 999 Emergency Service, Hunan Zhishui Emergency Rescue Team and Yunnan Dazhong Health Emergency Rescue Team. The emergency rescue teams overcame altitude sickness and completed the task, affirmed by the local government and the masses. Four domestic Red Cross units and five Chinese individuals in Red Cross field were respectively titled by the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and Central Military Commission as the "National Hero Collective in Earthquake Relief" and "National Earthquake Relief Model" for the disaster relief in Yushu.

　　【Post-disaster restoration and reconstruction projects】  1. Post-disaster restoration and reconstruction projects in Yushu and Zhouqu: In 2010, RCSC became a member of the State Council’s Post-disaster Restoration and Reconstruction Team in Yushu, signed the “Memorandum on Post-disaster Restoration and Reconstruction of Yushu after the Earthquake” with Qinghai Provincial People’s Government and promised to provide no less than 2.3 billion Yuan of project funds for the construction of 28 schools, 33 medical institutions, two disaster prevention and reduction facilities and some housing projects for farmers and herdsmen. On December 22, RCSC signed with Gansu Provincial Government the “Agreement for Red Cross Society of China to Support the Post-disaster Reconstruction Projects in Zhouqu after the Severe Flood and Debris Flow” and promised to provide support for the construction of two schools and 7 medical institutions with total relief funds of 225.1 million Yuan.

2. Post-disaster restoration and reconstruction projects in Wenchuan: In 2010, RCSC continued the post-disaster restoration and reconstruction work in Wenchuan after the severe earthquake, focusing on project adjustment, new project declaration and approval and allocation of balance payment. In order to further promote the post-disaster reconstruction work in Wenchuan, it issued the “Notice of Red Cross Society of China on Further Strengthening the Post-disaster Restoration and Reconstruction of Wenchuan” and rigorously reviewed the adjusted projects of Sichuan Province. As of the end of 2010, 168 projects were adjusted and the project funds amounted to 138 million Yuan. In addition, it developed the plan for the use of spare money for the post-disaster reconstruction of Wenchuan and actively promoted the construction of Red Cross Disaster Preparedness Center project in disaster area of Wenchuan and the implementation of software projects.

　　【"Community-based" disaster preparedness projects】 From March 8 to 12, 2010, RCSC and Hong Kong Red Cross held in Kunming the "Experience Summarizing Meeting of Five Provinces on Rural Community-based Disaster Preparedness Projects" to summarize the models for community-based disaster preparedness projects. On this basis, RCSC signed with Hong Kong Red Cross the "Memorandum of Three-year Cooperation Project" at the end of July and determined to invest 6.75 million Yuan in Mainland China in 2010 and 2011 to support the fourth rural community-based disaster preparedness projects in Anhui, Hubei, Yunnan and Guizhou.

　　Through RCSC, Hong Kong Red Cross provided aid funds of 15 million Yuan to support the post-disaster reconstruction and community training projects in the disaster-hit areas of Hunan, Jiangxi, Hubei and Chongqing. As of the end of 2010, the projects had been launched.

　　【Spring Rain Action】 In early 2010, in view of the severe drought in the southwest region of China, RCSC carried out the special fund-raising activity named “Spring Rain Action” and raised a total of 138 million Yuan. After Yushu was hit by an earthquake in April 2010, it raised a total of 153 million Yuan of relief funds and materials. In August 2010, after Zhouqu of Gansu suffered a severe debris flow, it raised a total of 27.0447 million Yuan of relief funds and materials for the affected people.

　　【Medical assistance to poverty-stricken areas】 In recent years, RCSC supported the government to carry out humanitarian relief and medical assistance work in disaster-hit areas, poverty-stricken regions and minority areas to spread the Red Cross spirit of "humanity, fratenity and dedication". According to incomplete statistics, from 2005 to 2010, RCSC and Chinese Red Cross Foundation supported the construction of 4,198 hospitals and community health centers nationwide, rescued 13,406 poor patients with congenital heart disease and 3,920 leukemia patients, trained 2,586 rural doctors and supported the construction of 2,431 Red Cross libraries, which met the immediate need of many poor families, improved the living and health conditions of impoverished regions and played an active role in improving people’s livelihood and promoting social harmony.

　　【Red Cross Light Poverty Alleviation Fund Project】 To promote the spirit of the Red Cross of humanity, fratenity and dedication and protect human life and health, the Red Cross Poverty Alleviation and Development Service Center and Shenzhen Fangzhongtian Network Technology Co., Ltd jointly founded the Red Cross Light Poverty Alleviation Fund to carry out the project of seeing light again. It mainly provides assistance for the cataracts patients’ surgery to help them see light again. Meanwhile, it carried out environment protection bag projects to promote environment protection and resource recycling and help the poor achieve re-employment. In 2010, the project mainly carried out the activities on eyesight restoration (targeting at cataract and other eye disease patients in poor areas, it organized well-known ophthalmologist to go to the impoverished areas to conduct free surgery on local patients) and pocketed environmental protection actions (it strived to enhance consumers’ environmental awareness and responsibility to promote environmental protection and reutilization of resources). As of the end of 2010, the project had carried out six eyesight restoration activities and two activities of caring for autistic children.

　　【Special funds for medical assistance】 In 2010, special funds of the Chinese Red Cross Foundation made steady progress in fund raising and funding for medical assistance, raised a total of 136 million Yuan of donations in the whole year, supported the construction of 84 charity hospitals and health centers and trained 983 rural doctors and 440 blind people. Angel Sunshine Fund, Running Angel Fund, Yan Ran Angel Fund and Benevolence Fund also made new progress in fund raising and funding work. In 2010, they trained 440 blinded persons, provided salvation services for 7,063 critically ill patients suffering from leukemia, congenital heart disease, cleft lip and cleft palate, subsidized 6,502 poor cancer patients and added two designated hospitals for illness relief.

　　【Little Angel Fund】 In 2010, while implementing the 50 million-Yuan national lottery public welfare fund project of Little Angel Fun for 2009, the Chinese Red Cross Foundation again applied for 50 million Yuan of lottery public welfare funds from the Ministry of Finance to provide salvation services for children suffering from leukemia, implemented two annual aid projects and subsidized 3.219 children with leukemia. In August, the "Summarizing and Training Meeting on the Lottery Public Welfare Fund Projects of Little Angel Fund" was held in Beijing; In October, the meeting on designated hospitals nationwide of "Red Cross Angel Plan" was convened in Yunnan, which further determined the model of serious illness relief jointly with grassroots Red Cross societies and designated hospitals.

　　【Assistance for cataract patients in poor areas】 In 2010, RCSC received donations of 2 million Yuan from Huadian Power International Co., Ltd and rescued 1,000 poor cataract patients from Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan and Ningxia. The Red Cross Poverty Alleviation Service Center successively provided eye sight restoration survey for free for 340 poor cataract patients from Wuhua County of Guangdong Province, Jianli County of Hubei Province, Linzhi County of Tibet Autonomous Region and Wuzhong City of Ningxia Autonomous Region.

　　【Assistance for poor patients with congenital heart disease】 In 2010, Hu Dayi Volunteer Team of RCSC’s "Love Project" went to 8 hospitals nationwide, provided free consultation and disease screening services for a total of 13,169 patients  (including suspected patients), discovered 5,013 patients with congenital heart disease and conducted surgery for 1,775 patients. On June 1, the International Children’s Day, jointly with all its cooperative hospitals nationwide, it carried out the "Care for China’s Poor Children with Congenital Heart Disease - Congenital Heart Disease Screening Activity across the Country".

　　On May 18, RCSC and the Armed Police General Hospital jointly organized the “Poverty Alleviation to Save the Heart - Action of Red Cross” for Taihang Old Revolutionary Base Area in Changzhi City of Shanxi Province, provided screening services for more than 450 poor people, completed surgery treatment for 119 patients with congenital heart disease and issued medical aid funds of more than 1 million Yuan. From October 22 to 25, RCSC carried out the activity to provide free salvation service for people with congenital heart disease with 1% of the funds and subsidized ten people with congenital heart disease in full.

　　【Assistance for poor drug-resistant TB patients】 In 2010, to help the poor drug-resistant TB patients, RCSC applied for relief funds from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to implement pilot relief projects to help drug-resistant TB patients in national poor counties and provided food and transportation subsidies for 30 poor drug-resistant TB patients to encourage them to accept standard treatment to recover health and shake off poverty as soon as possible.

　　【Sunshine program for women in the western regions】 As a humanitarian social relief organization, RCSC mainly concerns about the relief for vulnerable groups. In 2010, RCSC set up the "Sunshine Program for Women in the Western Regions", which attaches importance to women's reproductive health and cervical cancer prevention, and helps the women in western regions to carry out some basic reproductive health screening so that they can enjoy the most basic medical services.

　　【Poverty alleviation by education】  1. Love Grant Program for Poor Students. "Love Grant Program" is designed to help improve teaching conditions in poor rural areas and subsidize children from poor families to go to college, including four aspects, namely: aid for the construction of Boai primary schools; donation of Boai computer classrooms; donation of “Red Cross Library”; and the establishment of Boai student subsidies to help needy children to go to university, etc

　　In 2010, the Love Grant Program for Poor Students - the public welfare project of the Chinese Red Cross Foundation to support education continued the good development trend, received a total of 51.9059 million Yuan of donations, newly built 11 Love schools, donated 755 sets of Red Cross libraries, trained 100 rural teachers and subsidized 95 poor college students.

2. Book donations. In 2010, the Red Cross Service Center for Poverty Alleviation and Development donated books worth 45.17 million Yuan respectively to Honghe Prefecture’s Central Primary School in Yunnan Province, Shiziyuan Central School of Shen County in Shandong Province and the Central Primary School in Huangmei County of Hubei Province.

　　【Fixed-point poverty alleviation】 In order to implement the arrangements of the Central Government on rural poverty alleviation and development and strengthen support for poverty-stricken areas, based on the priorities and overall deployment for national poverty alleviation and development, RCSC further enhanced awareness and strengthened leadership and, based on the actual situation of the poor counties and the headquarters of Red Cross, continued to do a good job of fixed-point poverty alleviation to promote the economic and social development of the poverty-stricken counties.

　　Since 2002, RCSC has studied and implemented the task of fixed-point poverty alleviation, established and improved the poverty-relief working mechanism, carried out fixed-point poverty reduction in Hunyuan County of Shanxi Province based on the features the Red Cross and successively sent six cadres to practice in Hunyuan County to boost local economic and social development. As of the end of 2010, RCSC and the Chinese Red Cross Foundation donated more than 9 million Yuan of funds and materials to Hunyuan County, including 300,000 Yuan for the construction of three Red Cross hospitals and health centers, 350,000 Yuan for the construction of two Red Cross Love schools; more than 1.23 million Yuan of donations of medical devices and medicines for local medical departments; more than 1.95 million Yuan of donations of books, sports supplies and office supplies for local schools; more than 1.6 million Yuan of living materials for local poor people and about 220,000 Yuan of donations of 1,100 boxes of "life packages in warmth delivery activity".

　　RCSC actively seeks international cooperation to support local economic and social development of Hunyuan County. In 2007, through the liaison of RCSC, Hunyuan County Red Cross Society cooperated with the American Red Cross Society to support local rural water pipeline and toilet innovation, health care, education and capacity building for Red Cross societies with investment of nearly 860,000 Yuan. In 2003, RCSC contacted the Macao Special Administrative Region Red Cross Society to support the construction of Shanghan Village Primary School of Yulin. These poverty relief actions have, to some extent, improved the living, health and education status of the poor in Hunyuan County.

　　【Warmth delivery activities】 On January 1, 2010 and the Spring Festival of 2010, RCSC continued to carry out the “Warmth Delivery” activities, raised a total of 10.5 million Yuan of relief funds, delivered relief materials for 52,500 households and 210,000 poor people in 10 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, including those suffered snow disaster in 2009 and western impoverished regions, as well as six provinces( autonomous regions and municipalities) affected by Wenchuan Earthquake, RCSC and China Federation of Literature jointly carried out a large-scale activity of "Warmth to the People and Happiness to the Grassroots Units" in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, which enriched the activity form and content and achieved good social effect. Local Red Cross societies also donated in the "Warmth Delivery" activity. According to preliminary statistics, they raised a total of 31.6 million Yuan of money and materials for 158,000 households and 632,000 poor people.