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Doctor Zhang Guangyin checks medicines in a village clinic in Maojia Village of Weining Autonomous County in Bijie Prefecture of southwest China's Guizhou Province. [Jiao Meng/CnDG]

"Now I can see a doctor, by five minutes' walk," said Zhao Caihua, a 57-year-old farmer who caught a cold and was treated in a village clinic in Maojia Village. "In the past, I never went to hospital with minor illnesses. I had to spend 10 yuan (about US$1.55) to catch a bus to county town 23 km away."

This 60-square-meter clinic is one of 100 village clinic projects by the United Front Work Department of CPC Central Committee and China Overseas Friendship Association, built in Weining Autonomous County in Bijie Prefecture of southwest China's Guizhou Province.

These two organizations together donated 5 million yuan (about US$776,000) in 2010 and each clinic could get 50,000 yuan (about US$ 7,760) in support.

The county government spent another 132,000 yuan (about US$20,470) to construct and operate the clinic.

Meet farmers' need

Equipped with basic medicine, first-aid package and two doctors, the clinic could serve 4,700 nearby villagers with effective but cheap treatments and receive 20 patients per day on average.

"We can treat normal diseases and injuries so villagers do not need to go to county town," said doctor Zhao Caiqin, "if in emergency, an ambulance from county health center will arrive in 20 minutes."

"Moreover, we can attend training classes organized by higher-level medical centers to improve techniques and better serve the farmers."

Joint with rural medical system

It only costs every farmer 30 yuan (about US$4.65) to participate in new rural cooperative medical care system, about 1/20 of their annual income, according to National Bureau of Statistics of China.

China's Premier Wen Jiabao promised in government work report this year that government subsidies for this system should be increased from 100 yuan (about US$15.51) to 200 yuan (about US$31.02) per person, reported Xinhua News Agency.

"I only need to pay 18 yuan (about US$2.79) for three-day treatment, the rest is already settled by the system," said patient Zhao, "200 yuan is enough to cover my clinic fees, if hospitalized in county health center, I only pay 10-20 percent medical fees."

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