Young women from rural regions in China are moving to large, industrial city centers and becoming isolated from vital health and social services.

What we’re doing: Improving the health of young female factory workers in China

How we’re solving this: Working with three factories in Xinbei District to improve wellness through education and a referral network and giving young people a voice to make changes to their health and well-being

Young women from rural regions in China are moving to large, industrial city centers in pursuit of higher wages, job security, and an opportunity to contribute to the global economy.

They are arriving in China’s economic development zones to live in crowded factory dormitories where they are culturally and socially isolated, and often discriminated against outside the walls of their factory. High turnover of workers coupled with high demand for employment make these women dispensable employees—thus leaving them vulnerable to employer neglect and subject to poor working conditions.

These young women, who are between the ages of 18 and 29, have significant health needs. They must meet hourly assembly line production targets, which allows no time off even if they are ill or injured. Inadequate safety precautions and basic training often results in exposure to dangerous chemicals and accidents. Most importantly, these women have told Pathfinder that they need vital information and services, such as counseling on mental health, nutrition, gender-based violence and contraception, as well as testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections including HIV and AIDS care.

However, most of the women are neither aware of existing health services nor knowledgeable about where to look for services. As new migrants, these women do not know how to navigate the health system and providers are often not trained to address their main concerns.

To address these needs in one of China’s largest economic development zones in Changzhou city, Pathfinder started working with local partners in three factories in Xinbei District to create a Wellness Project that can be adapted and scaled-up throughout China. Given recent unrest among workers, the Chinese government is eager to see a demonstration project that creates breakthrough collaborations and builds on existing resources. Through this Wellness Project, we aim to improve the health and well-being of these vulnerable young women by:

• Establishing a community referral system by building strong partnerships among zone leaders, the factory managers, government health and social service agencies, and private health providers in Xinbei District.
• Supporting the creation of a “Wellness House”: a safe dedicated space for young female workers in each factory to receive counseling and quarterly health education sessions for the priority health and wellness needs they’ve identified.

Collaborations and partnerships with public and private partners are essential to Pathfinder’s work on this project to ensure sustainability. From the start, we worked to ensure full participation of project stakeholders, particularly the young female workers themselves, in problem identification and project design.