Chinese doctors treat 290m patients in foreign aid over six decades

BEIJING -- China has dispatched medical teams totaling 30,000 members to 76 countries and regions over the past six decades, providing 290 million diagnoses and treatments for local people, according to a symposium held in Beijing Thursday.

Currently, Chinese medical teams work at 115 sites in 56 countries, nearly half of which are in remote areas with harsh conditions, said the international symposium marking the 60th anniversary of dispatching the first China Medical Team to Africa.

Fu Qiang, director general of China National Health Development Research Center, said that from the fight against Ebola, yellow fever, to the prevention and control of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, members of the China Medical Team and public health specialists help partner countries to improve their diagnostic and treatment skills, leaving behind rich legacies for local people.

Dispatching medical teams to African countries is one of the most extended cooperation projects between China and Africa, involving the most number of countries and achieving the most remarkable results, which also embodies China's vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, said Li Xinfeng, executive president of the China-Africa Institute.

Members of the China Medical Team have not only expanded access to medical services for African countries and improved local medical and public health services, but promoted Chinese medical culture and health development concepts, boosting China-Africa friendship and cooperation, said Gan Ge, a senior research fellow at the Health and Population Research Institute.

Organized by the China National Health Development Research Center and the China-Africa Institute, the symposium was attended by about 50 people, including the ambassador of Algeria to China, officer-in-charge of the WHO China Office, members of the China Medical Team, experts, and scholars.