The vehicles will be used to investigate suspected SARS cases and follow up on people who had contacts with SARS patients in Shanxi Province and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, two of China's hardest-hit regions.

SARS prevention is especially severe in China's countryside with the wide distances and poor transportation and communication conditions.

"The surveillance vehicles will enable the critically importantactivity of controlling the spread of this disease," said Christian Voumard, UNICEF's representative in China, at the donation ceremony Monday.

Voumard commended the Chinese government for its wholehearted efforts in tackling SARS in Beijing and in all the other affected regions.

Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce An Min said at the donation ceremony that at the critical moment in the SARS fight, many international organizations and nations gave China financial and moral support.

The Chinese people are very grateful for the selfless support from the international community, An said.

In order to better support China in the fight against SARS, UNICEF also organized many activities to spread hygiene knowledge including the importance of proper washing, the spread of disease through spitting and the danger of smoking.

(Xinhua News Agency May 27, 2003)