Chinese Doctors: Healing Saviors for Africans

Hello, and welcome to this edition of "Africa Express" here on China Radio International. I'm your host, Wei Tong.

In April, 1963, China dispatched its first medical team to Algeria. To date, it has sent nearly 15,000 medical workers to around 50 African nations.

Sui Cancan and Ji Guangfu are two Chinese medical team members in Tanzania. They work hundreds of miles away from each other, but both saved a dying patient on the same day. Please stay tuned for this story...

Here is Mnazi Mmoja Hospital, the biggest public hospital on Zanzibar Island, which is part of Tanzania.

Hundreds of local people came here for medical care every day. Many of them come specifically to see Chinese doctors who account for around half of the total medical team.

Zanzibar Island, is nicknamed the "Lilac Island" for its abundant lilac blossoms. However, this charming island suffers from poor medical care. For the past four decades there has been a Chinese medical team here, dedicated in offering thousands of local people proper medical care.

One morning, a pregnant Muslim woman arrived at Mnazi Mmoja Hospital with a severe stomachache. An operation was immediately needed. Sui Cancan operated on the lady for over three hours, successfully saving both mother and child.

"Despite being her sixth delivery, she suffered a lot. She was in great pain so I decided to do an emergent Caesarean section. When the baby was finally delivered, I gave out a deep sigh. Luckily both the mother and child were OK—a healthy boy weighing over four kilograms."

At almost the same time, a sick man suffering serious brain and leg injuries was pulled back from the brink of death at a hospital in capital Dar-es-Salaam, hundreds of miles away from Zanzibar. But just several days before, the local doctors gave up the last ray of hope to rescue him.

Chinese neurosurgeon Ji Guangfu recounts the operation.

"When the man was sent to our hospital, he was already in a deep coma. We immediately decided to perform a craniotomy on him in spite of the difficulty and high risk of death. Without it, the likelihood of survival would have been slim to none."

Across all of Tanzania, only three doctors, including Ji Guangfu are able to independently perform neurosurgery.

"It was Doctor Ji who finally saved my life. May God bless Chinese doctors."

Here is the sick man who has been well on the way to recovery.

On one day, a new life came into being and a dying patient was rescued from the brink of death. As far as Ji Guangfu is concerned, this is quite normal. In addition to working hard every day, Chinese doctors are responsible for training local medical workers. Ji Guangfu has supervised more than 200 intern doctors in the past two years.

The good deeds of these Chinese doctors have won them popularity among the local people. The former chief secretary of the Ministry of Health in Zanzibar, Juma Othman, says Chinese doctors bear much responsibility and have obtained a good reputation in his country. Since life is priceless, the Tanzanian people convey their sincere thanks to these healers.

In the following three years, China plans to train over 15,000 African medical workers, including surgeons, physicians and nurses. What's more, China will assist some thirty more hospitals and provide over 300 million yuan, or nearly 40 million US dollars of donation money, in an effort to combat deadly malaria.