Doctors head to Sierra Leone to boost child care

China has agreed to send specialists in eye surgery and maternal and child care to Sierra Leone as part of wider efforts to boost health services across the African continent.

Zhao Yanbo, the Chinese ambassador, inked an agreement on Aug 12 with Minister of Health Abu Bakarr Fofanah in the capital, Freetown.

The move is a follow-up to the Johannesburg summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in December, when Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to send medics to Sierra Leone to perform cataract operations.

China provided vital assistance to help the African country battle the deadly Ebola virus. Zhao says it was during this period that it was decided to send 20 Chinese doctors to work at the China-Sierra Leone Friendship Hospital in Jui, at town south of the capital.

"Ebola is over, but the problems are more evident because most of the country's doctors unfortunately lost their lives, which worsened the problem," he says. "Because of this, my government has stepped in to help again, this time in the areas of eye surgery and maternal and child care."

The Chinese medical teams will perform cataract operations as well as assist in improving maternity care and child development and nutrition, areas in which the African nation is struggling to meet international standards.

The Health Ministry, which has begun registration for the free cataract surgery, says the first Chinese doctors should arrive this month. In all, the teams are expected to perform more than 500 operations.

"We refer to this agreement as the 'journey to brightness' because the operations are for Sierra Leoneans to regain their eyesight," says Fofanah, who has encouraged people affected by cataracts to register with the Jui hospital.

"We're truly grateful for this assistance and hope that the bilateral friendship will develop. China truly knows our problems and these agreements signed will definitely help us achieve President Ernest Bai Koroma's recovery plans."

China and Sierra Leone established relations 45 years ago. Since 1973, Zhao says his country has been sending healthcare professionals to help combat diseases as well as provide equipment and training.

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/19/2016 page3)