LZUFH was selected to undertake the national mission of pairing up with African hospital
date：2021/1/5 11:47:36 hot：2670
President Xi Jinping announced that China will establish a cooperation mechanism for its hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals and accelerate the building of the Africa CDC headquarters to help the continent ramp up its disease preparedness and control capacity at the Opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly. Three months later, National Health Commission has launched an Implementation plan on the cooperation mechanism for China’s hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals and determined 30 domestic hospitals to undertake this mission. Among these hospitals, the First Hospital of Lanzhou University was selected to pair up with Madagascar Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d’Anosiala.
Before the Assembly, China has sent a tremendous amount of medical supplies and assistance to over 50 African countries and the African Union. Five Chinese medical expert teams have also been sent to the African continent. In total, in the past seven decades, over 200 million people in Africa have received care and treatment from Chinese medical teams. At present, 46 resident Chinese medical teams are in Africa helping with COVID-19 containment efforts locally.
The First Hospital of Lanzhou University undertook the national medical aid mission and formally sent the first medical aid team to Madagascar since 1978. And now the medical assistance to Madagascar has gone through 42 glorious years with 22 batches of medical team and over 50 doctors in our hospital has worked in Madagascar.
Over these years, our doctors have been working in remote rural areas lacking water or electricity. They fully devoted themselves to the aid work. No matter it was on holidays or at night, they would be on call at every moment without complaints. They have overcome such enormous difficulties as different languages, difficult lives, unfamiliar environments, shortage of medicines, hot weather, mosquito bites and rampant diseases. Many comrades, though infected with malaria with a high fever of 40 degrees, still persisted in their daily work and received transfusion treatment at night. The operation was performed by using only a flashlight and a few candles, without any oxygen, blood, electricity or water, and without the cooperation of other doctors.The current COVID-19 pandemic is still raging around the world and causing unexpected damage. African countries in particular, have weaker public health systems. The pandemic aggravated the poor health system of Africa.
As President Xi Jinping proposed, “Helping African countries build capacity must be our top priority in COVID-19 response, the world needs to provide more material, technological and personnel support for African countries.” The First Hospital of Lanzhou University took the initiative in responding to the nation’s call and put the “paring up plan” into action. We have conducted online academic communications with the leaders and medical workers at Madagascar Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d’Anosiala. The two hospitals have shared their experience in fighting the epidemic and worked together with local medical staff to win this battle. Besides, under the guidance of the Health Commission of Gansu Province, they have reached a consensus on the key fields that needs to be constructed with the assistance of our hospital. In the future, our hospital will provide aid to Madagascar Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d’Anosiala, helping them build a Level II laboratory and set up their own Department of Respiratory Medicine, which not only need to donate necessary medical supplies but also train medical personnel for them.
As an old Chinese saying goes, “like the mountain range that stretches before you and me, let’s share the same trials and hardships together”. In the face of the unprecedented threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have once again stood shoulder to shoulder in our fight against the virus and poverty. This speaks volume about the profound friendship between the two nations and will add a new chapter to the friendly relations between the two countries and peoples.
By Lin Juanzhen/Liu Yatao
Edited by Office of International Cooperation and Communication
