China's 110,000 kindergartens will undergo health and hygiene inspections over the next two months.

The national campaign, jointly sponsored by the ministries of health and education, was launched over the weekend.

Many problems have been exposed in the country's kindergartens in recent years because of failures in health supervision and the underdevelopment of western and rural areas.

Some regulations, such as mandatory medical examinations for children before they are admitted to kindergarten, have not been strictly enforced.

Teachers and nurses at some kindergartens have also escaped health checks, risking the spread of infectious diseases.

Children's health has also been threatened by inadequate facilities, poor nutrition and lack of good hygiene, resulting in many cases of food poisoning every year in the country's kindergartens.

Injuries such as burns are also common in kindergartens, said a Ministry of Health statement.

But it predicted the problems would be solved through strict inspections.

The two ministries issued a special regulation on sanitation and healthcare in kindergartens in 1994.

The State Council also issued a document to guide the development and reform of children's education in March this year.

The document gives the Ministry of Health and its branches responsibility for supervising and guiding healthcare in all kindergartens.

Health authorities have also been asked to advise parents with children aged six or under on how to keep them healthy.

(China Daily August 4, 2003)