Since sending the first medical team to Eritrea in September 1997, China has successively sent nine medical teams of 168 person-times to Eritrea by May 2016.The Ninth Chinese Medical Team arrived in Asmara, Eritrea on June 26, 2015 and threw themselves into their one-year work soon after the handover of the Eighth Medical Team completed. Mr. Qiu Xuejun, Chinese Ambassador to Eritrea met with the members of the newly arrived Medical Team, and encouraged them to make continued efforts in relieving the pains of local patients and promoting China-Eritrea medical and healthy cooperation.
The Ninth Medical Team has 18 members including: Sun Laiguang(Neurosurgery) and Hu Rong, Guo Donglin(Urology), Lei Dazhou(Cardiology), Gong Jiping and Xue Jun(Anesthesia), Fu Yuke and Wang Chunguang(Medical Imaging), Zhang Yanan and Li Maiduo(Acupuncture), Yang Zhiguo(Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery), Guo Lianjun and Guo Weidong(ICU), Lu Shouliang(Dermatology), Liang Weiliu(General Surgery), Zhu Wenxiao(Orthopaedic), Feng Yu(Ophthalmology), and Liu Anxi (Interpreter).
Since working in Eritrea, all the members of the Medical Team have fulfilled their duties with full dedication, which is praised highly by the patients and local people, and signed a new chapter of China-Eritrea medical and health cooperation.
Out of professional responsibility, the Chinese doctors from time to time have to work even at the weekend, especially when they received the phone calls of medical emergencies. When the calls come, the doctors concerned have to put aside their daily chores and hurry directly to the hospitals to see the patients. Sometimes, they have to meet some new emergency patients who need immediate surgeries or proper treatments soon after they had just finished a surgery.
A female patient once had a severe oral disease with a huge mouth neoplasm and had not been able to get effective treatment for years. Despite the lack of necessary medical equipment and other difficulties, Chinese doctor Yang Zhiguo decided to conduct the operation after careful analysis and finally successfully removed the tumor bothered the patient for several years.
Acupuncture Doctor Zhang Yanan, once worked at the Xu Chang Chinese Medicine Hospital of China's Henan Province, is now working at the Physiotherapy Center of Oroto Hospital. He usually comes to the hospital early at 7:30 in the morning, preparing well for the work of clinic of the day. He treats 50-60 outpatients by acupuncture everyday, most of whom are of cerebral palsy. Because of Doctor Zhang's outstanding medical technique and effective treatment, lots of outpatients have been coming to him for further consultations. To satisfy the patients' desires and not to disappoint them, Doctor Zhang always works overtime.
Doctor Zhang's good medical skills and ethics have won high praise of the patients and his story has been known by the local charitable organizations. Conducting a charitable event at the ABC Kindergarten in Asmara, a charitable organization invited Doctor Zhang to attend, during which a representative of the organization, on behalf of the children with cerebral palsy and their families, presented a letter of thanks and an honorary certificate to Doctor Zhang. The local newspapers and television stations reported the event.
Apart from their outpatient service, members of the Chinese Medical Team are also making efforts in popularizing medical knowledge among the local people. On October 10, 2015, the Ninth Chinese Medical Team at the Oroto Hospital launched a demonstration of "Emergency Platinum Ten Minutes", publicizing three first-aid skills of "cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), trauma hemostatic and airway foreign bodies blocked emergency", teaching the local people how to practice the skills with their own hands. At the same time, the medical team also handed out health knowledge booklets to and measured blood pressure for the local people.These activities have been a further extension of the due diligence and dedication of the Chinese Medical Team.
By the end of April 2016, doctors of the Ninth Chinese Medical Team in Eritrea have made diagnoses and give treatment to a total of outpatients 36,176 person-times, hospitalized patients 7,765 person-times, 2,781 cases of operation, rescuing critical-disease patients 2,023 person-times,narcotizing cases 2006, acupuncture 13,433 person-times, medical image reading 9,269 pieces, local medical staff training 2,075 person-times.
The members of the Ninth Chinese Medical Team in Eritrea have fulfilled their mission in real earnest, making due contributions to China-Eritrea medical and health cooperation.