Deng Rui (Rita) is an Associate Professor at Kunming Medical University’s School of Public Health. A medical anthropologist by training, her current fieldwork and research focus on transnational migrant women’s sexual and reproductive health issues and health promotion in poverty reduction.

Her research provides critical information to key stakeholders, enabling them to contribute to the improvement of health for ethnic minorities and poor populations in southwestern China. Rita’s research has led to a variety of follow-up initiatives supported by the Chinese government and international NGOs.

As a council member to the Yunnan Health and Development Research Association (YHDRA), she also facilitates community-based health education and advocacy.

In recent years, my research has focused more on health and poverty. Currently, I have received a national fund to study the Health Poverty Alleviation Program in Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou Provinces.