Poverty link

Ling, from Chinese Medical Volunteer, said the group's members will visit more than 200 impoverished counties nationwide this year to provide diagnoses and training.

"Illness is a major cause of poverty in many rural areas," she said. "We hope our voluntary work will make a contribution to improving health in these regions and help to eradicate poverty."

CMV members will also visit Ethiopia and Fiji. In Ethiopia, they will help to treat children with hydrocephalus, while in Fiji they will provide training for the diagnosis and treatment of strokes, a condition with a high incidence rate locally, Ling said.

"We are continuing to recruit new members, but with more overseas missions predicted in the future, we will need more financial support to bear the doctors' travel expenses," she said.

"At present, we receive some donations from the public and some from businesses, and we hope to get more support from the government in terms of payment for services."

Chao, the pediatrician from Beijing, said despite the harsh living and working conditions in Guinea, she would volunteer to visit again if she were given the opportunity.

"It is true that life is not as comfortable there, and each of us packed food, including instant noodles, and mosquito nets to prevent being bitten while asleep, but that doesn't matter. The patients there respect us so much and are so kind."

Just before she returned to China, Chao was deeply moved when the mother of a child with hydrocephalus she had treated gave her a shawl to wrap around her shoulders.

"I did not expect it, as she looked very poor," Chao said.