Making Their Mark

　　In April 1963，the China sent its first medical team to Algeria， marking the beginning of its internationalmedical assistance program. Fifty years have passed. Dr. Ren Minghui， Director General ofthe Department of International Cooperation at China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission(NHFPC)， believes that Chinese medical teams have helped raise local medical standards inAfrican countries. During their 50 years of service， Chinese medical teams in Africa have become locallegends. Recently， Ren spoke to ChinAfrica about his views on Chinese medical assistance to andcooperation with Africa.

　　ChinAfrica： What has been achieved in China-Africa health cooperation in the past fivedecades？

　　Ren Minghui：First， the hard work done by Chinese medical teams has established a banner of Chinesemedical services in Africa. As far as I know， Africanpeople are most impressed by two China-aid projects：

　　the Tanzania-Zambia Railway and Chinese medicalteams， especially the latter. Over the past 50 years， theChinese medical workers have provided services toaround 260 million patients in Africa.

　　But I don’t think figures are that important as the factthat China has never stopped this program over the pasthalf century. Although some countries have also sentvolunteers and doctors to Africa， none has kept doingthis for such a long time without interruption as Chinahas. This is definitely a legendary effort. Many Africanheads of state and ministers have told us their own storiesabout Chinese medical teams. Some ministers weredelivered by doctors from such medical teams.

　　Second， while helping relieving pains of localpatients， Chinese medical teams have helped hostcountries in establishing their own healthcare systemsand training local medical personnel. Our medicalteams are fully aware that a country’s public healthdevelopment cannot depend only on the assistanceof other countries， but more on the improvement ofskills of local medical workers， as well as their participation.

　　In addition， the Chinese Government has alsoinvited African health officials and medical specialiststo come to China to attend training programs in areassuch as health management， public health policies andmalaria prevention and control. Our medical assistanceto and cooperation with Africa have been expanded inmany new forms over the years.

　　What challenges is Chinese medical assistanceto Africa facing？

　　The biggest challenge is the lack ofan overall nationalstrategic plan for our medical assistance to Africa. Atpresent， we mainly provide medical services based onthe requirements of African countries and our owncapacity. It’s better to plan ahead and take action proactivelyrather than to simply respond to events.

　　Today， after 50 years of providing medical assistanceto Africa， we suggest we have a longer-term strategicplan for bilateral health cooperation. Under this overallstrategy， health cooperation and exchanges with Africancountries are done through concerted efforts byChinese government agencies， NGOs， enterprises， thinktanks and research institutions， as well as internationalorganizations.

　　In addition， government departments and agenciesshould have a consensus regarding the importance ofbilateral health cooperation for China-Africa relationsas well as in the country’s foreign policies. Only whenthis consensus is reached， can they better coordinatetheir efforts in providing financial support， personneltraining and capcity building for host countries.

　　Third， more research needs to be done， especially onthe cases of other countries in health aid to Africa. TheUnited States， Japan and some international organizations，such as the World Bank and the World HealthOrganization (WHO)， have also carried out many healthprograms in Africa. We need to learn from their successfulexperiences.

　　Fourth， more funding is needed. In addition toCentral Government financing， local governments andenterprises should also play their part. It’s encouragingto see that some state-owned enterprises investingin Africa have donated funding for medical assistanceprograms， which helps them fulfill their social responsibilitiesand establish good reputations.

　　As an NH FPC official， how do you see the enterprises’involvement in the country’s medicalassistance to Africa？

　　We strongly encourage more enterprises to launchhealth programs in Africa. Sinopharm Group， an SOEand the first Chinese pharmaceutical company listedamong the global top 500， has shown great interest indoing so. Fosunpharm， a Shanghai-based anti-malariadrug manufacturer， has carried out a program in Africa.Also， the China Chamber of Commerce for Import &Export of Medicines & Health Products (CCCMHPIE)，under the Ministry of Commerce， has been working foryears to encourage private Chinese pharmaceuticalenterprises to invest in African market.

　　What’s a new trend in China-Africa health cooperation？

　　Generally speaking， models of China-Africa cooperationare becoming increasingly diverse. In terms of medicalcare， we are still in the aid phase with the Chinese Governmentacting as the major investor； but other kindsof cooperation aside from medical team aid also exist.

　　Some Chinese enterprises have worked with NGOsto build hospitals in Africa. The China Foundation forPoverty Alleviation， for example， helped build the Sino-Sudan Abu Ushar Friendship Hospital in Sudan， which isfunded by the China National Petroleum Corp.

　　There are also some public health and academicresearch programs that have received investmentfrom African countries and international organizationsin the form of material and human resources， whichhave enhanced the self-reliance of local healthdevelopment.

　　Some Chinese N GOs are working in Africa.

　　Should their work be supported？

　　Of course. They deserve full support. The CentralCommittee of the Communist Youth League ofChina owns a youth volunteer organizationthat has sent medical professionals to differentAfrican countries. I also think it’s necessaryto have different organizations workingcoherently and cooperating with each other.

　　Chinese NGOs or relevant institutions intendingto provide medical services in Africaare advised to make good use of our medicalteams， as cooperation can strengthen all theefforts. Worldwide communicationis also necessary to avoidwasting resources by overfundinga single program， leavingother programs with nothing.

　　What should NGO volunteerspay attention to whenthey are working in Africa？

　　First， they should have a competentknowledge of the countriesthey are going to， including theircultures， health systems andmedical services.

　　Second， they should beaware of the common diseasesin the area where theyare working and be prepared todo the work according to theircapacity， since passion alonedoes not make them qualified tohelp. They should keep in contactwith the relevant Chineseembassy and medical team， ifthere is one， so that they can gettechnical support when facing difficulties.Meanwhile， we also expect to get feedback andsuggestions from volunteers， because we still havenot learned enough about African countries despitethe fact that our medical teams have worked there for50 years. Therefore， we hope to communicate withNGOs to use their experiences and suggestions for ourfuture work.

　　In what ways will you cooperate with internationalorganizations？

　　International cooperation mainly focuses on publichealth. For example， the WHO works in thefields of tuberculosis， AIDS， infectious diseasesand maternal and child health； UNAIDSfocused on AIDS issues. Most United Nationsagencies， including some quasi-UN agencies， areconcerned with public health in African countries.However， these international organizationshave done little in improving local health systems，such as training personnel， building hospitals，and providing guidance on health policies.

　　These are exactly what China isgood at；our medical teams provide clinical servicesand build hospitals. Meanwhile， we hopeto use international platforms to share our60 years of experience in improving publichealth with African countries. Currently， weare running a program with the WHO tofight schistosoma in Tanzania.

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