Aid

The "too proud to take aid" is a famous stereotype, and like many stereotypes has roots in reality. But pride might only be part of it--part might be a folk-memory that aid comes with strings attached.

Maybe the string is as simple as glorifying your patron, or maybe as dangerous as borrowing from the Mafia, or maybe as complicated as a hospital built with American materials and American labor that simply demands that you be able to staff an American-style hospital using all the nurses in the country. These days, read "Chinese" for American.