Making migrants’ move to Qingdao healthier

Beijing - A number of innovative partnerships help MSI China reach out to vulnerable migrant communities in the booming city of Qingdao.

Qingdao in Shandong Province is one of China’s most prosperous cities. Each year, hundreds of young people move there from the countryside to look for work. Many have never been away from home before and reaching the big city they feel isolated and alone. Many sleep rough and are poorly educated. As a result, they are more prone to poor sexual health and unplanned pregnancy than those who have lived in the city all their lives.

These migrants are often hidden to the authorities and to health services and reaching them can sometimes be a challenge. Enter the MSI China team at the ‘You&Me’ Centre in Qingdao who have been developing a number of innovative partnerships with several public and private authorities over the past year. All of these partnerships are designed to reach out to this forgotten population and each is making a real difference to the lives of the migrants.

One such partnership is with five of Nike’s factories where many of the young migrants work. Through this the MSI China team take services direct to the factories on to the shop floor. In the last year alone, more than 2,000 migrant Nike factory workers have benefitted from on-site well women and well man checks.

The Qingdao Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and the local police are other key partners helping MSI China overcome barriers when reaching out to commercial sex workers and those working in restaurants, bars and the entertainment industry. In 2008, the MSI team provided STI tests, treatment and information to over 1,000 service industry and sex workers.

“Collaborations like these have created greater awareness of MSI China’s services and mission in the broader community, and has helped us reach previously inaccessible populations,” said Lily Liqing, MSI China’s Programme Director.

“When MSI China first started working in Qingdao in 2003, we saw 50 clients a month. Today, we average 500 per month. Many more are helped through on-site visits to young migrants’ work places, helping to move us towards our target of being the biggest and best family planning organisation in China.”

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