Free medical care provided to villagers in Sierra Leone

As part of their continuous effort to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, quality medical service, a team of 20 Chinese doctors from Jui Chinese Hospital in Sierra Leone recently provided free medical services to the people of Gongboma village

This service on May 6 was also extended to other people in the surrounding villages about a dozen kilometers outside of Bo in the country's Southern province.

Entering Gongboma, the Chinese medical team was welcomed by a huge crowd of patients who were awaiting the arrival of the Chinese doctors at the center of the village. The villagers' relatives sang traditional songs.

Men, women and children benefited from free medical services provided by the Chinese doctors, whose specialties included anesthesiology, pharmacology, pediatrics and gynecology.

Mariama Bangali, who is pregnant, said she was very happy for the treatment she received from the doctors.

"I have been attending clinics for months now, but the treatment I received from the Chinese doctors is special. The medicines are very good. I wish they could stay in our village for a month or two," she says.

"They checked me with a machine. For the first time, I heard my baby in my womb breathing through the machine, and they said I am OK and may deliver at any time," she says, smiling broadly.

The head of Gongboma Hospital, Frances Mansaray, expresses thanks and appreciation to the visiting Chinese medical team for the free medical treatment they offered, which she believes will help reduce the rate of sickness within the Gongboma community and complement the work of the local medical staff.

She says the clinic has been dealing with a huge influx of patients, with most cases involving malaria, diarrhea and typhoid fever.

She says a big challenge is the nonavailability of needed drugs in the hospital, despite the government's free healthcare initiative, which is still in operation across the country.

The town chief of the village says his people find it very difficult to access quality medical service in that part of the country, particularly when it begins raining.

He appealed to the Chinese medical team for a Chinese hospital to be constructed in that region so that his people will enjoy the facilities that are available at the Jui Chinese Hospital on the outskirts of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.

"We've heard a lot about traditional Chinese medicine, and we are eager to try it. Our door will remain open to any Chinese investment in our village" he says.

One doctor, Huang Yang, says the Chinese doctors were very happy to be among the local people and to provide free medical services.

He says their efforts were part of the continued support the Chinese government is offering to the people of Sierra Leone as a way of strengthening bilateral ties.

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/12/2017 page3)