Chinese doctors bring Ethiopian patients cure, hope

CHONGQING -- Nine teams of more than 80 Chinese medical experts have been dispatched to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa over the past nine years for missions centered on military-public health cooperation.

These teams were sent by the Army Medical University to aid Ethiopia. The doctors were mainly from various departments of the university's Southwest Hospital in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, including hepatological surgery, oncology, infectious diseases and radiology.

These Chinese doctors have shared numerous heartfelt stories about the lives they've been entrusted with and the health they've cared for on land 17,000 kilometers away from home.

CREATING MIRACLES

Despite limited resources, Chinese doctors have performed numerous medical miracles.

Ethiopian Gezahegn Tilahun claimed he had been dogged by a "mystery disease" more than two years before he was received by the Armed Forces Comprehensive Specialized Hospital of Ethiopia.

"About two years ago, I started to feel the pain. I have resorted to four local hospitals, but none could find the cause. They just told me the disease was sophisticated and asked me to go to higher-level hospitals," complained Tilahun, adding that he lost 21 kilograms of weight due to illness and his skin and eyes started to become sallow.

Tena Mamo, a hospital surgeon, said Tilahun was diagnosed with Pancreatic Neoplasm, but they had never operated on such a disease. Knowing this, Wang Xiaojun, leader of the ninth medical expert team, joined hands with local doctors to perform a lifesaving operation on Tilahun, which lasted eight hours.

"Without Wang, we were unable to operate on the patient, for we don't have any experience," said Mamo.

"My true gratitude is beyond words. They have given me another life," said Tilahun.

In 2020, when COVID-19 raged worldwide, the only Chinese-run hospital and some local hospitals with relatively acceptable conditions became designated hospitals for COVID-19 treatment. Despite the scarcity of equipment and medicines, the Chinese doctors turned their settlement place into a makeshift outpatient hospital for local patients.

At that time, a locally-employed young Chinese man came to the Chinese doctors with severe dizziness. Zhang Jun, a doctor in the expert team, diagnosed the man with otolithiasis. However, a problem got in the way -- there was no medical bed for a canalith repositioning procedure, which is the best cure for the disease.

"How about the ping-pong table?" The proposal inspired the doctors.

They moved the ping-pong table out in the yard. Having taken some protective measures, they repositioned the canalith of the young man and cured his disease.

"Even though the condition is always limited, we always seek to do the best with what we have," said Li Fei, leader of the sixth Chinese medical expert team.

Under exceptional circumstances, operations were carried out in the least likely of places. For instance, Chinese doctors performed incisions of the abscess on a sofa and nasal hemostasis using a motor vehicle as a platform.

PASSING ON SKILLS

Before Luo Hu, leader of the seventh medical expert team, was sent to Ethiopia, he feared that language would be a big obstacle.

"What if doctors in Ethiopia won't talk to us, and what if they don't listen to our advice?"

The worries were soon put behind him after Luo worked with Ethiopian doctors.

During Luo's stay, a girl who just graduated from medical college became his assistant. The young doctor often resorted to Luo for advice, and Luo always stood ready to answer all her questions and assist her with any diagnosis.

The young doctor has made significant progress with the help of Luo, and soon she independently treated a wounded Ethiopian soldier. Before Luo returned to China in early 2021, he gave his stethoscope to the girl as a gift.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), especially acupuncture, has proven popular among local patients.

Bamlak Tessema is a renowned Ethiopian international football referee. Following some advice, he received acupuncture treatments from Chinese doctors.

"I appreciate Chinese doctors' endeavor to share the knowledge and experience of TCM with our doctors and help them master related techniques," said Tessema.

The expert teams have also helped construct a high-tech hospital in Ethiopia. As of May 2023, information systems and imaging equipment have been installed in the hospital and are expected to be used soon.

According to Army Medical University, the first eight Chinese expert teams delivered medical services to more than 20,000 people, performed or instructed 1,572 operations, carried out 1,218 critical diseases consultations and trained 182 local medical workers in Ethiopia. Since their arrival on May 11 this year, the medical experts of the ninth team have operated the first duodenectomy in this region and given 351 acupuncture treatments.

"China's medical expert teams have aided us for a consecutive nine years, which has secured many good results," said Hailu Endeshaw, director of the Armed Forces Comprehensive Specialized Hospital.

"In the future, we hope our cooperation in diverse fields could be tightened. Chinese doctors are of great importance to us."