Yunnan Health and Development Research Association

Like many other Chinese public health specialists, Dr. Zhang Kaining, director of the Yunnan Health and Development Research Association (YHDRA), had not devoted much of his professional attention to environmental issues until fairly recently.  Yet the participatory approach his nongovernmental organization (NGO) has employed in the public health field is now proving useful in building collaboration across environmental and health disciplines and professions. 

"Every first Saturday of the month, since we began working 15 years ago, we have held an informal meeting for researchers and NGO workers in the area," Dr. Zhang said.  "The purpose is to talk about research taking place and new findings.  Since 2007, we have added environmental health as a topic for discussion."  These sessions are a first step for health and environmental specialists to educate each other about their respective fields and to find areas for joint inquiry into the effects of environmental changes, including pollution, on human health. 

YHDRA also is encouraging interdisciplinary groups to undertake small-scale research on environmental health.  One group traveled to the Xishuangbanna region of southern Yunnan province to talk with local residents about how they perceived environmental changes and health impacts.  Over the course of their conversations, the researchers discovered that most of the homes in the region had roofs made of asbestos, a substance with the potential to cause asbestosis and lung cancer. 

This caught the attention of the YHDRA group, as an environmental health topic worth further investigation.  "But first," Dr. Zhang said, "we want to understand why the local people are using it.  What is the ‘market' interest in this, how do local people perceive the value of an asbestos roof?"  The answer, he and his colleagues discovered, is that people from some ethnic minority groups consider the asbestos roofs modern and therefore preferable to traditional-style materials. Back in Kunming, the group is now undertaking a more comprehensive review of the use of asbestos and associated health risks.  It also is developing plans for further on-site research in Xishuangbanna.

Whatever form this asbestos project or other initiatives ultimately take, they certainly will include community-based research and participatory learning, which have been hallmarks of YHDRA's work.  Dr. Zhang underscores the value of empowering local leaders.  "We have learned from the process of working in local communities that message delivery is more effective when it is conveyed by someone who is recognized and respected locally."  YHDRA also has involved local government and media in order to expand the channels for delivery of health services and information. 

Professionals from a range of sectors will need to educate themselves and their communities about the high environmental and health costs associated with China's economic growth.  For the newly developing field of environmental health, as it has for other social issues, Yunnan's NGO sector may prove to be a source of ideas and innovative models that can be replicated in other parts of China.