Twenty-four pediatric professionals from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region started a three-month training program at Shanghai Children's Medical Center today, with help from a fund set by 12 domestic academicians and local Red Cross.

The program plans to train 100 Xinjiang pediatricians within two years in serious and complicated children's diseases including congenital heart disease, leukemia, neonatal disease and severe diseases. "We want to improve Xinjiang doctors' ability on diagnosis and treatment under the training program to allow children in Xinjiang to receive high quality treatment without going all the way to big cities," said Dr Jiang Zhongyi, president of Shanghai Children's Medical Center. "It is also the target of the current health reform, which aims to realize a classified service system."