A prescription for nomadic health

National policy dictates locals can get an 80-percent reimbursement from the clinic if they show their medical cards.

"But we don't have enough workers to visit every tent," he explains.

"It's not like a real town, since nomadic people live so scattered."

Director of Yege's human resources Resang says: "The government provides money for their hospital visits. But they can't go."

The government also provides houses and food for the poorest herders, he adds.

"Some of the most impoverished families have intergenerational problems, like severe illness," Resang says.

He cites as an example a remote family that has two disabled children. The 13-year-old boy "can only move a little" and the 14-year-old girl can walk supported by a wall. Their 1-year-old boy died from a fever last year.

Resang explains inaccessibility remains a two-way problem with many locals who qualify for assistance.

"There are some people we want to help but just can't reach," Resang says.

"There's no road. We walk for hours. But it's dangerous. There are wolves and bears."

Now the clinic has a van. But that doesn't help off-road in the mountains, and the weather often renders roads impassible.

The three biggest respective health issues are back and knee problems resulting from the 4,500-meter altitude, hepatitis and cancer, Quezhubtsering says.

The main ailments Chaoguo identified in 2011 were hepatitis, food-borne stomach diseases, and frostbite and severe joint pains caused by the cold.