Alumni
Course: 2023-2024
My name is Zhihao (Jimmy) Feng. I have now had over 5 years’ experience working in UK-China bilateral health exchanges and collaborations at the British Embassy in China, where I now serve as Head of Digital Health, in addition to 2 years working for public health campaigns on issues such as healthy ageing and HIV/AIDS awareness at non-profit organisations in Southwest China. I completed an undergraduate degree with a major in Event Management and Translation in China and studied a minor in European Policy and Business in the Netherlands. In 2016 I completed a Masters’ Degree in Education at the University of York, UK.
“After 3 months of studying the Global Health programme, I now have a much more systematic overview of global health and far better understanding of major global health issues, from an interdisciplinary, intersectional, and international perspective. The programme has provided me with resources and skills to strengthen my analytical capacity in epidemiology, diseases surveillance, the global burden of disease and socioeconomic determinants of health. I have also had the opportunity to learn from professors and peers from diverse backgrounds. Their rich experiences and practices in different countries and cultural settings has brought global health ‘to life” for me! It has enabled me to more fully appreciate and approach One Health through the lens of different socioeconomic and cultural perspectives.
I have developed new visions of global health, in which health is a holistic matter that concerns the health of people, animals, and the planet; in which health equity is attainable and that enables everyone to live longer and healthier; in which health accessibility is universal and that allows people to enjoy the access to quality and affordable healthcare services.
In promoting the holistic One Health vision, I have had the opportunity to apply some of the global health knowledge into supporting the UK-China Net-Zero Healthcare Symposium through my recent work, to engage different stakeholders across sectors in UK and China in discussions about health and climate change. I also came to appreciate that the visions for health equity and universal coverage is still far from attainable globally, especially in the current climate of geopolitical tension and regional conflicts, where we have witnessed the 100+ days’ war in Gaza, depriving people of their right of access to basic healthcare services.”
My future engagement in Global Health
Despite the war and conflicts that have shadowed the global health visions, I am still inspired by the global efforts from healthcare professionals, humanitarian workers, and the international community to pool their support for the people in Gaza. While those efforts might seem of little significance in the lens through the big picture of geopolitics and war, it is the global community fighting together to keep those shared health visions alive. And that motivates me to continue to study the Global Health course. I am keen to learn more about the global health challenges, international cooperation and humanitarian actions as tools and global health diplomacy in the upcoming lessons; to understand better about the principles of multilateral collaboration and diplomacy, and how we can attempt to navigate through the geopolitical tensions to develop the best possible health outcomes.
With the Director-General of WHO urging ceasefire on the 100-day mark of the war in Gaza, I came to appreciate not only the complicated health challenges in the current international climate, but also the global efforts required to achieve universally accessible, equitable health for all. This inspires me to pursue my future career in global health, and to be part of the community to fight for the global health visions. I am motivated to work for international organisation such as WHO to contribute to a world where people can live in an environment that enables them to thrive and live a longer and healthier life.