Chinese doctors forge enduring friendship in Africa with healing touch

Published: July 01,2023

Even after decades, the vivid memories of her time in Africa remain etched in the mind of 90-year-old Zhang Youming.

Zhang, a retired doctor hailing from central China’s Hunan Province, is a pioneering member of the country’s first medical aid team to the African continent. During her tenure, she performed nearly 1,000 surgeries, providing invaluable assistance in safely delivering countless African children into the world.

During the ongoing third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Zhang’s hometown Changsha, a forum on China-Africa pharmaceutical health development was held. For Zhang, the continuous strengthening of the China-Africa bond evokes vivid memories of her years in Africa.

In her Changsha home, she keeps an album that holds a precious photograph of herself wearing a white coat, radiating joy as she cradled a wide-eyed local girl. This picture was captured during her time providing aid in Algeria, North Africa.

In May 1963, at the age of 30, Zhang was working as a gynecologist at the Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha. Despite having a two-year-old son at home, she bravely embarked on a mission to provide vital medical aid in Algeria.

There, she treated local patients during the day and studied Arabic at night to better communicate with them. During her stint of two-and-a-half years at a local hospital in Algeria, Zhang performed nearly 1,000 surgeries and developed a deep bond with the locals.

In a significant incident, Zhang became a lifesaver for a particular patient — a mother struggling with a severe placental condition. Deeply moved by the experience, the woman decided to name her newborn “Chinese” in Arabic, a testament to the enduring bond forged between them.

Since 2014, China’s ophthalmology medical team of the National Health Commission has conducted multiple free eye clinics across 11 African countries, including Ethiopia.

Li Yun, an ophthalmologist from Changsha, has participated in four such trips, leading the medical expert team twice to Sierra Leone, where she conducted over 500 cataract surgeries under challenging conditions amid an Ebola outbreak.

“Being able to help patients regain their sight is very inspiring,” Li said.

Li and her team also compiled training manuals and conducted ophthalmology teaching sessions for local medical students.

As of 2023, Hunan Province has dispatched 55 rounds of overseas medical aid teams, comprising a total of 677 personnel, since their first mission in 1973. The teams have treated over a million patients, trained more than 9,000 local medical workers, and helped cultivate many medical personnel for Africa.

In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of 12 medical experts led by Zhu Yimin, a pediatric specialist and the deputy director of the Hunan Health Commission, was sent to Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea.

Respiratory specialist Sun Shuang, who was also part of the expert team, used a combination of Western and Chinese treatment methods to successfully treat hundreds of patients.

“Medical aid in Africa has built a bridge of friendship between Chinese and African people. I am proud of the Chinese doctors who have traveled a long way to alleviate the suffering of local patients,” Zhu said.

Xinhua