Family cure remedies headaches of the poor

Ancestral herbal medicine prescriptions, known as mifang, are usually considered family assets and kept secret for business reasons.

But over the last three years, Zhong Jinghua has widely handed out free homemade painkillers to poor farmers in his home province of Fujian, in a show of support for the nationwide campaign that strives to eliminate absolute poverty in China before 2021.

Equipped with the formula left behind by his forefathers, Zhong has traveled to some of the remotest villages in the coastal region. So far, he has helped more than 380 villagers grappling with migraine, which is a major health issue in the humid southern provinces as dehydration and exhaustion tend to increase the risks. Severe bouts of the painful condition can also damage a person's chances of employment.