Zambia honors Chinese medical aid team

Zambian Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya conferred Sino-Zambian Medical Cooperation Medals onto the 19th Chinese medical aid team in Zambia on May 14 in recognition of their contribution to advancing local healthcare over the past year.

The team, comprised of 28 Nanyang doctors specializing in traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, neurosurgery and orthopedics, was sent by the Health and Family Planning Commission of Henan Province. They arrived in the southern African nation last May and began a year-long medical aid practice in four local hospitals.

As of April, the medical aid team had treated 15,275 outpatients, performed 726 operations, and rescued 392 critically ill patients. It also trained 352 local medical workers and provided free medical consultation to residents in remote areas and children in orphanages.

Chilufya said that the government was happy to honor the doctors who worked diligently over the past year to strengthen the Zambian healthcare system during their tour. Their hard work was reflected by improved service in the four hospitals where they were stationed.

According to Chilufya, China has been sending medical aid teams to Zambia since 1978. The two countries have developed close relations in the health sector over the past 40 years, which is crucial to local infrastructure construction and high-level health personnel training.