MISSION of CARE

In June, when the Children's Hospital of Diamniadio in Dakar, Senegal, received a 4-year-old who had swallowed a whistle by accident about 20 days earlier, Cai Zhiliang, a doctor, knew urgent surgery was needed.

The child was coughing while wheezing, and the oxygen-saturation level had dropped to 70 percent.

It was a common surgery, but the lack of proper medical equipment made the situation a little difficult. Cooperating with anesthesiologist Huang Jianbin and physician Guo Lianghua, Cai removed the whistle from the child's windpipe in about 20 minutes.

The doctors are members of the 19th medical team dispatched from China to Senegal since November 2021.

As of March 31, the 14-member medical team had provided 7,058 outpatient services, completed 3,150 surgeries and 1,039 cases of giving anesthesia.

After working at the Children's Hospital of Diamniadio for more than a year, Guo can easily relate with many young patients.

"The smiles of these children make my work rewarding here," Guo says, adding that in the children's eyes, doctors, no matter what skin color, are "guardians of their health".

Guo has learned a bit of the local dialect and hopes that through simple communication, he can give the patients the support needed to fight against illnesses.

Mame Fama Dieng Gaye, the director of the Children's Hospital of Diamniadio, says the Chinese team helps "support the hospital's daily operation, both technically and administratively".

This year marks the 60th anniversary since China's first medical team was sent to Algeria in 1963. So far, China has sent about 30,000 medical personnel to 76 countries and regions in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Oceania and other parts of Asia, providing medical services to 290 million people, according to official data.

At present, Chinese medical teams are working in 56 countries and regions, nearly half of which are in less-developed areas.