In 2008, Research on and Demonstration of the Key Technology of the Modern Development of Tibetan Medicine became a key project of the National Program Supported by Science and Technology during "11th Five-Year Plan", acquiring the supporting fund of 17.57 million Yuan from the State. This project is undertaken by Tibetan Autonomous Region Institution of Tibetan Medicine and Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine Group and will be completed in 2009. It is the first time that Tibet undertakes the key project of the National Program Supported by Science and Technology. In 2007, the autonomous region manufactured Tibetan medicine totaling 1,039 tons, creating production value of 574 million Yuan, with an increase of 5.2 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

In order to strengthen the research work on Tibetan medicines, in 2007, the TAR Hospital set up the Tibetan Medicine Research Institution covering 17 research subjects. The Four-Volume Medical Code, with Champa Trinle, the State-level expert on Tibetan medicine, as editor in chief, is one of the projects for arranging the literature on national ethnic medicines, A New Compendium of Tibetan Medicine, and Dictionary of Tibetan Medicine, by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, have been published.

On April 6, 2007, the magazine China's Tibetan Medicine started publication, with such topics as the historical literatures on Tibetan medicines, astronomy and calendar, basic theory, clinical diagnosis, medication and prescription. It mainly discusses the origin and development of Tibetan medicines, studies the cultural heritage of Tibetan medicines, scientifically sums up the diagnoses and therapeutic methods of various diseases, promotes research on effective components and drug processing techniques, playing an positive role in improving the integrated level of the Tibetan medicine academy and accelerating the prosperity and progress of Tibetan medicine academy.

Cooperation Projects on Maternal and Child Health

In September 2006, Tibet began to implement the Cooperation Projects on Maternal and Child Health during the Period 2006-2010 of the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Children's Fund in seven counties of four areas, of which, Gyaca, Qusum and Chagyab were the three new counties implementing the scheme. The project aims to improve the quality of maternal and child healthcare services and pay more attention to the migrant pregnant and lying-in women and children living in poverty. After the completion of the projects in 2010, the healthcare network at county, town and village levels will be set up and improved through the integrated construction of medical service institutions, aiming to make the 80 percent of families in the project covering areas enjoy economical and highly-efficient basic health and nutrition intervention services, get to know enough about prevention, care and feeding means to ensure the survival and development of the pregnant and lying-in women as well as infants; at least 70 percent of health centers in the towns and villages can provide basic obstetrics services, emergency treatment services for newborn babies and basic healthcare services; It aims to ensure that the proportion of pregnant woman giving birth in hospital reaches 80 percent, 50 percent more than the existing base; the anemia rate of pregnant women and children can be reduced by 10 percent and the incidence of malnutrition drop by 25 percent, so as to improve child health and reduce disease.

From 1986, Tibet implemented such projects over five phases. In the implementation in the period 2001-2005, it covered 15 counties of Xigaze, Shannan, Nagqu and Nyingchi prefectures, with 600,000 directly benefiting.

(China's Tibet facts and Figures 2008)