A Healthy Relationship

　　When Zhong Risheng, a 30-something Chinesedoctor, took a trip to Comoros, an island country offthe coast of Africa, in mid-July, 2012, he ended uphaving a very different experience from his first trip tothe continent in 2004. On that visit, Zhong spent twoyears in Niger broadening his horizons and gaining lifeexperience. But on his more recent trip he hoped tohelp African people with health issues. In addition tohis work in Africa, he had another important responsibilityin his life to consider: This time he would beleaving his two-year-old son in China.

　　“I told myself, on the other sideof the earth, manychildren need my help to get rid of disease so thatthey can continue to live healthy lives,” said Zhong.“Then, I no longer feel regret [about being away frommy son],” he added.

　　Zhong is just one of the 21,729 Chinese medicalpersonnel who have made the journey to Africa overthe past 50 years to help treat the continent’s sick anddiseased.

　　Fifty years ago, on April 6, 1963, China’s first medicalteam, made up of 20 Chinese doctors, set off forAlgeria with a strong international humanitarian spiritand sense of responsibility, marking the beginning ofChina’s international medical assistance program.

　　True friendship

　　In January 1963, China was thefirst countryto answer the call of the Algerian Governmentfor medical assistance after the success of theliberation movement led to the withdrawalof French medical workers. The move toprovide help, said Lucy Chen, ExecutiveDeputy Director of the Institute for GlobalHealth at Peking University, was made despitethe fact that China itself was sufferingfrom the shortage of medical professionalsand resources. That China hasbeen sending medical teams to Africafor the last half century, despite its owndifficulties, demonstrates that the Sino-African partnership is based on genuinefriendship and strongly rebuts Westernmedia’s criticism that China’s involvementin Africa is purely for the purpose of exploiting naturalresources, said Chen.

　　Currently, the Chinese Government pairs upChinese provinces and municipalities with Africancountries and dispatches medical teams accordingly,making this form of aid and cooperation more sustainableand targeted.

　　According to statistics from China’s National Healthand Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), over 21,000medical personnel have been sent to Africa overthe past 50 years, treating more than 200 millionpatients. At present, around 1,000 Chinesehealth professionals are working in 42 Africancountries.

　　“Chinese doctors work hard and are highly efficient.They are not afraid of hardship and workin areas that are short of doctors and medicines,and are most welcomed by our people,”said Sasara Chasala George, the Republic ofBotswana’s Ambassador to China. Julius KambarageNyerere, the first Tanzanian President,also praised Chinese medical workers, sayinghe trusted them and they had both experienceand a strong sense of responsibility.

　　Over the past 50 years, African governmentshave awarded medals to 962 Chinesemedical team members, according to theNHFPC.

　　Expanded cooperation

　　China accelerated its engagement with Africa afterthe establishment of the Forum on China-AfricaCooperation (FOCAC) in 2000, under which Chinastrengthened its cooperation with African countriesin the health sector.

　　From 2007 to 2009, China assisted African countriesin building 30 hospitals, provided 300 millionyuan ($48.7 million) in grants for anti-malaria drugsand built 30 malaria prevention and treatment centers.

　　From 2010 to 2012, China provided 500 millionyuan ($81.2 million) worth of medical and anti-malariaequipment to those hospitals and centers.

　　China’s medical assistance to Africa has alsoundergone great changes over the past decade. Moreand more government departments, non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) and Chinese companieshave joined in offering health assistance to Africa,according to Dr. Ren Minghui, Director General of theDepartment of International Cooperation at China’sNHFPC.

　　“The areas of cooperation have also been expandedfrom sending medical teams to training local medicalpersonnel; from building hospitals and providingfree medical facilities and medication to conductingjoint medical research,” he told ChinAfrica.

　　In recent years, new technology has alsobeenintegrated into China’s infrastructure constructionprojects in Africa. Portable container hospitals andclinics, which were developed by Chinese researchersat the Low Cost Health Program Center at theChinese Academy of Sciences’ Shenzhen Institute ofAdvanced Technology, will soon be ready for use inCameroon or Namibia, and there are plans to sendclinics to Egypt, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania bythe end of this year, according to the London-basedScience and Development Network (scidev.net).

　　The low cost and mobility of fully sustainablecontainer hospitals and clinics make them very suitablefor rural areas that lack basic health equipment,said Wuliu Jiaqi, the training director for this project.

　　Increased partnerships

　　More recently, China has also engaged in multilateralhealth initiatives in Africa through internationalorganizations such as the World Health Organization(WHO) and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). China-Africa cooperation in healthhas been supported by the international community,said Ren.

　　In recent years, many NGOs and enterprises,such as the Brightness Action program, whichis dedicated to offering free eyesight-restoringsurgeries for cataract patients, have made contributionsto China-Africa medical initiatives. During aneight-day trip in November 2010, 12 Chinese eyespecialists operated on 612 cataract patients inMalawi and Zimbabwe.

　　Co-sponsored by several NGOs and domestic enterprises,Brightness Action is the largest program ofits kind in Africa. “They are pioneering a new modelfor China-Africa health cooperation, and more ChineseNGOs and companies should be encouragedto make use of their advantages and join this kindof program,” said Wang Luo, Director of the Instituteof International Development and Cooperation atthe Chinese Academy of International Trade andEconomic Cooperation, a research institution underChina’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

　　According to Wang, every year many Africanmedical personnel and officials come to Chinaand attend various training programs in infectiousdisease control, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM),nursing, hospital management, rural health andhealth policy, which are run by MOFCOM’s Academyfor International Business Officials.

　　Traditional medicine is another area in which Chi-na has collaborated with Africa, with China providingTCM-based HIV/AIDS treatment to African patients.

　　“Several African health ministers have madeproposals asking the Chinese Government to helpthem develop their traditional medicine,” said Ren atthe Fourth International Roundtable on China-AfricaHealth Collaboration held in Botswana this past May.

　　Since the China-Tanzania Cooperation Projectof Using TCM to Treat Patients with HIV/AIDS waslaunched in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in 1987, over 60Chinese TCM doctors have worked there, accordingto Professor Wang Jian, Deputy Director of the ChinaAcademy of Chinese Medical Sciences’ TCM Centerfor AIDS Prevention and Treatment.

　　“Cooperation between local doctors and Chinesedoctors has been strengthened to develop Tanzaniantraditional herbs,” said Wang. “To furtherpromote those exchanges, more and more Africanstudents have come to Chinese universities to studyTCM in recent years,” he added.

　　Building capacity

　　Capacity building is another promising aspect ofChina-Africa health cooperation. To strengthen thesustainability of health care, Lucy Chen suggestedthat China provide more financial support and trainmore local medical specialists in order to strengthenlocal medical capacities.

　　“China plays a unique role in supportingAfrica’shealth progress, drawing from its investments inhealth research and development and its experienceimproving the health of its own citizens, such as itscurrent health reform effort, which is the largestexpansion of healthcare coverage in history,” Chentold ChinAfrica.

　　The Chinese Government has also increasedthenumber of government scholarships available fortraining African health workers. Tsinghua University’sResearch Center for Public Health has recently createda one-year International Master of Public Health(IMPH) Program, which is specifically designed forpublic health officials, disease prevention and controlspecialists and health program managers.

　　“The program is designed to improvehealth conditions and achievehealth equity in developing countries,”said Jing Jun, head of the researchcenter, adding that they are receivingapplications and the program will startearly next year. (application info availableon www.chinafrica.cn)

　　Challenges ahead

　　Based on 50 years of Sino-Africancooperationin health, Ren said it’s high timefor the two sides to work together to draft long-termhealth cooperation strategic plans and explore newforms of partnership. He hoped that the comingMinisterial Forum on China-Africa Health Development,which will be held in Beijing on August 16,will provide a good opportunity. “To improve ourservices, future cooperation should be based on theneeds of African countries and our own advantages,”he said.

　　“Although there is an inter-ministerial coordinatingcommission, China does not have a comprehensivesystem for providing assistance, and this hasaffected medical assistance initiatives,” said Dr. LiAnshan, Director of the Center for African Studiesat Peking University.

　　Much is expected from the increasedengagement of China’s private sector andChina can also learn from the experiencesof its African counterparts in the healthsector. “Chinese scientists also need tolearn more from their African counterpartsabout the epidemics and commondiseases in Africa,” said Ren.

　　“In the field of epidemic controlandprevention, especially HIV/AIDS, we canlearn how some African countries controlthe disease by using civil society, NGOsand citizen participation,” he said.

　　By Liu Jian

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