Students launch Tufts chapter of nationwide UAID organization

Two students, Christopher Kuhner and Yimin Zhang, recently launched a Tufts chapter of United Against Inequities in Disease (UAID), a nationwide organization that seeks to empower "students and communities to eliminate health inequities," according to its website.

Sophomores Kuhner and Zhang spearheaded the initiative to bring a chapter of the organization to Tufts, and will serve as the new president and vice president of Tufts UAID, respectively.

“Our goal is to engage in the community and start sustainable health initiatives for inequalities that we are currently experiencing, including the minority, women, homeless and the poor," Kuhner said. "We want to help empower students and help create a better system for the future.”

According to Kuhner, he and Zhang began discussing the potential for launching the club after they realized that a number of health groups already on the Tufts campus have focused primarily on health issues of global significance, but do not necessarily address issues of the nearby communities.

Kuhner explained that his interest in serving the Medford and Boston communities helped inspire his decision to apply to the national headquarters of UAID, which is based in Cambridge, to start a new chapter at Tufts. He explained that the chapter at Tufts was officially launched in September.

The two students are in the process of planning a project, titled "Box-City," for the upcoming spring semester that aims to raise awareness among the Tufts community about health inequalities and homelessness, according to Zhang. The project will involve the decoration of cardboard boxes to promote consciousness of these issues in the Boston area.

"Box-City would hopefully give people some ideas that not only [do] we have to take care of global health, but [we] also [have to take care of] health issues that are right next to us," she said. "We plan to decorate cardboard boxes so people understand many people don’t have places to sleep during cold Boston winter nights.”

Zhang cited the October closing of the Long Island Bridge, which crosses the Boston Harbor to connect the mainland with Long Island, the site of the city's largest shelter facility for the homeless, as an example of a current health problem in the area. 

“Health inequalities problems are happening right now just near us in the Boston Harbor," Zhang said. "Currently, the bridge [that] needs construction ... was the only path to deliver healthcare for many people. Patients can’t take drugs or receive necessary treatments.

According to Zhang and Kuhner, the organization has received help from many other organizations and students on campus and has received positive responses thus far. They added that they have also received aid from the Community Health Program, Tufts Peer Health Collaborative and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Center.

The group will continue to plan different collaborative actions with groups that have similar goals, according to Zhang and Kuhner. They hope to have liaisons with Peer Health Collaborative and the Group of Six.

Though students have shown interest in the organization, Zhang and Kuhner explained that they hope to see more passionate individuals with positive mindsets join Tufts UAID as the new group gets settled on campus. 

Before coming to Tufts, the first chapter of UAID was launched at Yale University in 2009 by then-sophomore Sonia Gupta, who sought to find sustainable solutions to real-world health problems, according to a presentation by Tufts UAID. Given that every community is unique and that many volunteers go abroad for only a few weeks each year to help others but are unable to leave a lasting impact on global health issues, Gupta looked to organize smaller groups to more effectively fight health inequality issues in local communities.

The national UAID organization has now grown to boast 15 chapters nationwide at universities including Columbia University, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and New York University, and has had over 2,000 members, 20 international trips and four national symposiums since its founding, according to its website.