China Energy Foundation Completes CHD Screening among Children in Butuo County

From December 13 to 15, China Energy Foundation organized experts from the Chinese PLA General Hospital to train rural doctors and provide free congenital heart disease (CHD) screening for children in Butuo County, Sichuan Province. The poverty alleviation officials dispatched by China Energy’s Sichuan branch, leaders of the Butuo County Health Bureau, and 95 grassroots medical workers participated in the training session and the CHD screening campaign.

Experts from the Chinese PLA General Hospital, together with local medical workers, provided free CHD diagnosis for 3,166 children from nine kindergartens and primary schools including the Yisa Community Kindergarten and Sunshine Kindergarten. The screening campaign detected five children with CHD, of whom three need surgery. Next, if their parents or guardians agree, those three children will receive surgery at the Chinese PLA General Hospital in Beijing, with the financial support from China Energy Foundation.

Since 2019 when it launched the rural doctor training program, China Energy Foundation has helped Butuo County train 156 rural doctors. Besides, it has conducted CHD screening for 6,648 children, and 17 children were diagnosed with CHD, of whom 12 have received surgeries. Through providing financial support for children with CHD in Butuo, the foundation prevents their families from falling back into poverty due to medical expenses, brings hope and health to those children, and improves the living quality of their families.

This time, the campaign integrated training, screening and assistance, not only helping medical workers across the county enhance their capacity to screen and diagnose children with CHD but also building an assistance platform for early detection, diagnosis and treatment of such children. Furthermore, it is conducive to effectively aligning consolidation of poverty alleviation achievements with rural revitalization.