Mengyi Zha (’16) wants all of China’s 1.3 billion residents to get the basic health services they need.
“Growing up in Beijing, I was aware of the large number of poor and homeless people living in the streets but was taught to ignore them,” Zha recalls. “I felt it was my responsibility to speak for the voiceless and advocate for the ignored, but it wasn’t encouraged.”
Receiving medical care in China can be fraught with difficulties. With few primary-care physicians in the country, getting care requires traveling to the nearest hospital—most doctors are hospital-based—and standing in line waiting to spend a few minutes with an impersonal physician. Faced with these obstacles, people often triage themselves, gathering advice from friends and family before deciding to see a physician. But for the poor and uninsured, paying for health care may not be possible. Read more...
