Chinese doctors in South Sudan step up knowledge transfer drive

JUBA -- The eighth batch of the China medical team in South Sudan has embarked on capacity building and knowledge sharing with South Sudanese medical students and health workers.

The Chinese medics stationed at Juba Teaching Hospital will be providing free medical services in the country for one year and at the same time offer capacity building to students and health care workers.

Since their arrival to the east African country in mid-August, the Chinese doctors organized lectures for medical students at the Health Science Training Institute in Juba.

The first two training sessions conducted last month benefited over 50 medical students, who were tipped on anesthesiology and orthopedics.

"I like their innovative way of teaching and I hope to continue attending these lectures because it will encourage us as medical students to apply the medical techniques in our work," said Santino Mathew, a first-year student pursuing a diploma in Theater Attendant.

Mathew said the lectures were useful to him, calling on the Chinese medics to continue sharing experiences with medical students in South Sudan.

"I thank our government for the partnership with the Chinese government and doctors. Next time, if they are coming, let them provide more practical lessons for the students," Mathew added.

Another medical student, Emmanuella Poni commended the work of the Chinese doctors in South Sudan.

"We have gained a lot from the lectures. We also shared experiences with Chinese doctors. So, I hope they will continue coming to the school so that we gain more knowledge," Poni said.

China has sent eight medical teams to South Sudan since 2013 to support their local counterparts in providing health services and human resource development.

The Chinese medics have provided medical consultations and surgeries to thousands of patients across South Sudan in the past seven years.

Li Jinkuan, translator for the Chinese medical team in South Sudan said they are committed to continuing to provide free health and capacity building services in South Sudan.

Li added that the China medical team is seeking more partnership with medical schools in South Sudan to boost capacity building for health workers and medical students across the country.

"We are trying to provide our knowledge to the local medical students so that they become qualified medical workers in the future," Li said.

"We have started with the Juba Health Science Institute and we will try to cooperate with universities and medical schools to enable us to share our China experience with South Sudan," he added.