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Taipei IMAT helps Mongolian herders

A stone sculpture of a herder riding on the back of a water buffalo is pictured against the background of mountains at a lake in front of a hotel next to the Mingde Reservoir in Touwu Township, Miaoli County, yesterday. PHOTO: FU CHAO-PIAO, TAIPEI TIMES

The Taipei International Medical Assistance Team (Taipei IMAT) will leave for Mongolia to provide free health checks and other medical services to herders, the Taipei City Hospital said yesterday.

Taiwanese pharmaceutical companies will also donate 100 blood sugar test kits and different types of drugs to Mongolia, the hospital said.

Ho Hsiao-feng, chief of the International Cooperation Section of the Taipei City Hospital, who is also a member of Taipei IMAT, said the team would mainly provide services in the suburbs of the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, and in the Khovd Province located in western Mongolia where the majority of the herders live.

“In Mongolia, the most prevalent illnesses are chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and hepatitis,” she said.

The local health department has attributed these chronic diseases to dietary habits and the sharing of syringe needles, she said.

Chen Jun-chiu, the Taipei City Hospital’s deputy superintendent, said that about 54 percent of Mongolian herders suffer from high blood pressure, due to heavy drinking and the high sodium and fat content of their food.

Moreover, because of the long hours on horseback, herders often suffer from knee problems and sciatic nerve pain, the hospital said.

In developed countries, these problems usually only occur among the elderly, the hospital said, adding that due to a lack of medical resources and economic support, many herders cannot afford surgery or drugs.

“Mongolia is like Taiwan three or four decades ago, when the medical network and public health system were inadequate,” Ho said.

Taipei IMAT, consisting of 14 medical professionals and care workers, is slated to leave on a two-week trip to Ulan Bator on Monday, Ho said, adding that the group has been providing volunteer services in Mongolia every year since 2003.

It has also done volunteer medical work in southern India, Sao Tome and Principe and in some remote provinces of China, Ho said.


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