Medical support as a way of poverty alleviation

In Yousheng Village, Hongmo Town, Mianning County of Sichuan Province, Wang Xuezhao is the fourth generation in his family to work as a doctor. He is known locally for the osteopathy skills handed down from his ancestors.

"My grandfather told me that my grand-grandfather mainly used a basket and a hoe to pick herbs on the mountains and then used a stone mortar and pestle to make medicine," said Wang.

Things have changed for the generation of Wang Xuezhao, who learned both TCM and Western medicine at Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. After graduation, he returned to his village and became a doctor with a university degree, rare at that time in his village. He continues the practice of osteopathy and is also responsible for the immunization program in the village. But it was not without difficulties at first. When he promoted knowledge of vaccines in a village of Yi people in 1999, a local elderly woman refused his visit to her house, saying her children were all healthy and her family did not believe in taking injections or medicine. Wang was chased out.

To change the obstinate villagers, Wang tried every means to publicize  immunization, including at meetings of village cadres and groups, family gatherings and banquets for weddings or funerals. Because he couldn't speak the local language, he asked his friends or village cadres to act as translators, or had his friend's child vaccinated in front of villagers. After years of effort, Wang has finally won the recognition and support of the villagers.

In 2017, Wang was elected by locals as deputy Party chief in the village and he has become even more eager to make a difference. For example, to let every poor family truly enjoy a healthcare policy as a way to alleviate poverty, he has collected the health information on all the families and made sure all villagers sign the agreement to have a family doctor. "I will live up to the trust of the villagers, fulfill my responsibilities and serve them well," said Wang.