China works to free Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of endemics

Qumochung's sons, together with 910 children from five neighboring townships, are now being schooled in Nanmuda township, each receiving a monthly food subsidy of 110 yuan (15.7 U.S. dollars) from the government.

"I used to have a bad sleep with the fear that my children might be ill like me someday," said Qumochung. "But now they're growing and studying in a healthy environment. I feel so relieved."

Safe drinking water is also available to 126,000 residents in villages where the disease prevails. Free medical care and lodging is provided to 5,528 patients who have severe Kaschin-Beck disease.

In areas where the disease situation is too severe to be suitable for continued living, whole villages are being moved to safer places.

The migration project began in Aba last year. With an investment of 1.1 billion yuan (157 million U.S. dollars), a total of 17,067 households, or nearly 70,000 people, will be moved to new homes away from the disease-prone region by 2013.