China has sent another batch of medical workers to Uganda to help the African nation fight against various diseases and improve its public health system.
The team, comprising seven medical experts, a translator and a chef, was selected from three hospitals and a university in southwest China’s Yunnan Province. They departed from the provincial capital of Kunming on Thursday.
“By carrying forward the hardworking and indomitable spirit, we will try our best to help locals relieve from diseases,” said Guo Zhiping, head of the team from the No.3 People’s Hospital of Yunnan, at the send-off ceremony on Wednesday.
Guo added that they will further deepen the cooperation between the two sides on hospital management, disciplinary construction, talent cultivation, telemedicine and public health, among other areas.
The medical experts are from different departments, covering gastroenterology, anesthesiology, otolaryngology, surgery of thyroid gland and breast, urinary surgery, tuberculosis and the science of acupuncture and moxibustion, an important practice of traditional Chinese medicine.
Before their departure, the team received four months of training, including PCR sampling and testing skills, as they will also be helping the country combat COVID-19 during their 15-month stay.
Since 1983, Yunnan has dispatched 21 medical teams to Uganda. This year is the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Uganda, and Guo said he hopes their service in the country will contribute to strengthening the profound mutual friendship.
China sent a medical team to Algeria in 1963, heralding its medical aid undertaking in Africa. In November 2011, China released a white paper on China-Africa cooperation, which said China had sent 23,000 medical practitioners to the continent by then and treated some 230 million people.
