Ray Yip is a man constantly on the move, an action man whose remit is the China region for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest and wealthiest charitable organization in the world.

His work is non-stop, described in a self-deprecating way as “busy, but always challenging and fun.” But in many respects it could not be otherwise for this man who is the key China cog in the Gates Foundation that bequeathed US$3.4 billion to projects around the world in 2012.

It has invested over US$200 million in China since 2007, averaging about US$50 million per year in recent years.

China was one of the first places Gates visited as full-time philanthropist and he committed US$50 million in aid to help the country tackle its then key health issues, including HIV/AIDS prevention, supported a push to curb smoking, and discussed accessing China’s expertise to improve African agriculture.

He opened an unobtrusive, unsigned office in Beijing and hired Dr Ray Yip to head the program. Yip was formerly China director of the US Centers for Disease Control and senior adviser to UNICEF China. He had helped China’s Ministry of Health and the Chinese CDC in health-system reform and was recognized as a distinguished AIDS expert.

The China office’s work has grown over the ensuing five years as Yip and his team support the planning and development of major projects and provide technical and management assistance to grantees.

Rather than just working in China, it works with China on resolving challenges both in-country and around the world to deliver on the foundation’s aims “to help all people lead healthy, productive lives.”

Yip has spent the past 15 years of his career in China, almost 10 between UNICEF and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the rest with the Gates Foundation. His professional pedigree consists of medical and master’s of public health degrees from the University of Minnesota and he is board-certified in pediatrics, pediatric hematology and oncology.

He has had wide exposure to various aspects of health and rural issues in China, including public health, nutrition, child health and HIV. “This exposure has helped me understand more deeply the true nature of the development challenges that China has faced, how we can continue to overcome them in the future, and how we can apply China’s success to global needs,” he said.

Yip said the foundation’s China partners are critical to its work, and include government, private sector and non-profit organizations. “Their innovation, production, and service capacity can make a great difference toward improved health and poverty reduction not only in China, but also other parts of the world,” he said.

“China’s R&D capabilities as well as its experience in agricultural development and poverty alleviation can be applied to Africa’s current development process. So we’re working with our partners here and around the world to develop solutions and products.”

Yip cites three “incredibly rewarding” projects he has supported in China. The first was as Chief of Health at the UN Children’s Fund when he supported inclusion of the Hepatitis B vaccine into China’s immunization program. The vaccine was critical to preventing liver cancer and cirrhosis. “This ensured that all Chinese children would be vaccinated for Hepatitis B, not just those who could pay for it,” he said.

The second project supported the efforts of China’s Ministry of Health in 2001 to change the country’s key indicator for measuring maternal mortality from clean delivery to hospital-based delivery. “The key causes of maternal death at the time were complications at birth, so bringing women to deliver in hospitals instead of at home was critical,” he said. “China’s efforts have resulted in over 50 percent reduction of maternal mortality rates over the last decade, one of the greatest reductions in the world.”

The third project was the Gates Foundation’s engagement of civil society in response to AIDS. “We have worked hard to support China’s efforts in targeting HIV-positive people as the focus of prevention,” he said. 

Yip said that while China still has development issues to address, its ability to help other nations should not be underestimated. “From developing and manufacturing vaccines to promoting agricultural innovations that could radically improve the output of African farmers, collaborating with China will be an important aspect of our work.”

When asked does the foundation try to tap into Chinese entrepreneurs for support in partnerships outside China, his response is an emphatic “Absolutely.”

“We are interested in the development and improvement of key agriculture and health products that can be used in some of the poorest parts of the world. This is a task much greater than our capability as a single organization, so we partner with governments, private enterprises, and other organizations aligned with our mission,” he said.

“Private enterprises make up a critical part of our efforts because much of the necessary innovation and capacity to produce these products resides in Chinese manufacturers and enterprises. And we are excited about these mutually beneficial partnerships.”

He said the foundation has worked with some companies that require no economic return, however “they receive technical and financial support from us and increase their competitiveness by raising their management and technical capacity.”

Yip cited the example of a Chinese-made Japanese encephalitis vaccine which has already saved thousands of lives in China.

“By supporting our Chinese partner in their hard work to meet international standards, not only can they achieve World Health Organization pre-qualification and gain access to global markets, but children who previously had no access to an affordable, high-quality JE vaccine will soon have access to this life-saving vaccine,” he explained.

Yip said Shanghai plays an important role in the foundation’s work because it is one of the world’s most active centers for pharmaceutical research and development.

“A significant part of our ongoing work in vaccine and diagnostic development is connecting with domestic and international companies as well as clinical research organizations in Shanghai,” he said. “We also continue to have HIV and tobacco control programs based in Shanghai.”

Despite the collective “pull” of Shanghai, Yip said it was important, and often difficult, for the foundation to strike a balance between its work here and other areas with greater need. “If we lose our focus on these people, we fail to truly understand the mission that we’re serving,” he said.

He loves working in China because he believes living here packs in more experience per year. “One year here is like three in the US: in the same amount of time you have triple the challenges, triple the opportunities, and triple the learning,” he said.

“Inevitably, life is short; but China’s dynamic environment has allowed me to live more in the same amount of time.”

An hour after signing off on this interview in Beijing, and as China was winding down for a three-day holiday, he headed for the airport to catch a flight to the foundation’s headquarters in Seattle. Action man!