Case Study - Supporting Children's Health in Yunnan

Twining's sources most of their tea, especially green tea, from China. As such, the company wants to support the rural communities from which their tea farmers reside.

Twining's has been working with Save the Children on a health project in Cangyuan, Yunnan, in order to support families and address the high child mortality rates in that area. This region is mountainous, and is the ideal location for growing quality tea. However, due to its terrain and remoteness, it is difficult for the people living there to have access to health services, leading to an increased prevalence of diarrhoea and pneumonia. This results in the high child mortality rate that is experienced, even though these diseases are preventable and treatable.

The partnership aims to strengthen the health care system for women and children, to improve the quality of care provided, to increase tea communities' knowledge on childhood illnesses, and to expand the availability of health care services.
Twining's has been able to accomplish the following so far:

• The launching a new standardized referral system, supported by the local government. This is to ensure that children under five in Cangyuan County are referred to health facilities for treatment.
• Workshops on Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses have been carried out. These workshops include studying theory, hands-on clinical practice in a hospital, and assessment to help trainees apply these new approaches when diagnosing children in the community.
• They have enabled Community Health Promoters to actively promote key maternal and child health messages in their communities. This includes information on the benefits of breastfeeding, the prevention of pneumonia, hand-washing and immunization. 
• Thousands of booklets have been distributed to raise awareness, and to help parents and caregivers recognize symptoms and treat pneumonia and diarrhoea, as well as to give simple tips on counting a baby's breathing rate to identify pneumonia, and how to make rehydration salts at home for treating dehydration.

Health care outreach programmes (Twining's, 2014)

The project has been proven to be a success, and is of great importance amongst the tea communities. It will thus be extended to 2017 in order to bring the benefits of improved child health to an additional 21 villages.