ABU USHAR, Sudan, May 30 -- Yasmin Hassan Widaa, a Sudanese girl born in 2001 at Abu Ushar hospital in Sudan, also known as Sudan-China Friendship Hospital, has said her dream was to become a doctor and work at Abu Ushar to help people in the area.

She told Xinhua recently that "I have special feelings towards this hospital because I first saw the light at this health institution."

"I has seen the Chinese and Sudanese doctors work hard to provide medical assistance to the people, so I dream to be a doctor and work at this hospital," she said.

Most of the children in Abu Ushar area were born at the hospital which stands as a symbol for the Sino-Sudanese friendship and is still the headquarters for the Chinese medical mission that first came to Sudan in 1974.

Abu Ushar hospital, some 110 km southeast of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, has been playing a pioneering role in reducing child mortality rate as it is one of the oldest hospitals in the area including services for pregnant women.

It launched a child mortality reduction project in July 2013 in cooperation with Sudan's Health Ministry, Al Bir Wa Al-Tawasul Organization and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.

The project is designed to find solutions to the phenomenon of children's deaths, representing part of the hospital's community role and its interaction with the rural communities.

At present, arrangements have been underway to implement a new phase of the project

Ibrahim Mohamed Kabeer, the project's information officer, told Xinhua "the project targeted 250 pregnant women. It started in July and ended in December last year."

The result was positive and only 11 infants died in the targeted cases, caused either by lack of oxygen, abnormal pregnancy or due to a mother's infection with other diseases, he said.

According to a UNICEF report in January 2014, Sudan ranks 33 in the world for deaths of children aged less than five years.

Of the about 1.3 million children born annually in Sudan, 89,000 of them die before the age of five. The rate of underweight children is 32 percent and children who are acutely underweight represent 13 percent.

"We are now working to generalize the project at wide areas in Gezira State in central Sudan, where the previous phase of the project covered only 14 villages. This project helps Sudan's effort to improve its record in the field of child mortality rates," Ibrahim Mohamed Kabeer said.

Eight-year-old Al-Nazeer Mohamadain told Xinhua that "My birth certificate indicates that I was born at Abu Ushar hospital and also many of my peers. I love this hospital and I know it is very important, not only for the people of our area but the entire Gezira State."

He said he felt sad about the death of underage children, saying "every time I heared a woman lost her child at birth, I felt sad. It is saddening to see a child die after birth. I wish not to see any child die."

Child mortality, including infant mortality, remained relatively high in Sudan due to factors including lack of health care and social awareness, and the harsh economic circumstances.

Sudan has been working hard to achieve the UN's Millennium Development Goals by 2015, particularly with regard to reducing the child mortality after it has become a nagging issue for authorities and the community.

The Ministry of Health has announced a national plan to enhance maternity and child health during 2014-2015 with the aim of reducing rates of maternity mortality and under-five deaths.

The plan, which was worked out with the support of international partners, includes measures relating to enhancing health care for mothers and children, educating the community and raising the skills of midwives in remote areas.