Batches of Chinese medical teams have been treating critical cases in African countries for over five decades, Wang Qian and Qin Feng report in Xi'an

For Yu Yongliang, chief physician at Xi'an Central Hospital in Shaanxi province, Sudan is his second home with a total of eight years' stay in the country in the course of five medical assistance missions.

"Nearly a third of my career has been spent in Sudan. The recognition of Chinese doctors by the people of Sudan has left me with deep impressions and beautiful memories," Yu, 57, says.

He still remembers his first mission to Sudan in 2007. After landing at the airport, he was immediately whisked off in a car to a hospital 140 kilometers away where he performed 14 surgeries on his first day.

During his stay in Sudan, Yu treated more than 8,000 outpatient cases and performed over 6,000 surgical procedures. Lots of patients, some facing serious conditions and high volume of surgeries are his impression about Sudan, which has been echoed by his family. His father, his wife and his wife's uncle and brother, who are all medical workers, collectively carried out 11 missions of medical assistance in Sudan over the past 20 years.

His family is a microcosm of Shaanxi's medical aid work in Africa. After the first Chinese medical team was dispatched to Sudan in April 1971, batches of doctors and nurses from Shaanxi have embarked on the health-assistance journey, treating the African people with compassion and deft medical skills.

Though countries have borders, medical practitioners transcend them. Over the past 53 years, Shaanxi has dispatched 48 batches totaling 1,298 medical personnel to Sudan and Malawi, carrying out various short-term assistance projects and launching hospital cooperation mechanisms. As of July, its medical teams treated 8.47 million outpatient cases, and performed 253,400 surgeries in the two countries.

During the ongoing 11th mission to Malawi, Wang Yonggang, head of the medical team, recorded many "firsts" since their arrival in January in his WeChat moments.

With their help, Malawi's first specialized cardiovascular outpatient clinic has been established at Mzuzu Central Hospital, a tertiary referral hospital in Mzuzu city, Malawi. Furthermore, Chinese doctors successfully conducted open liver resection surgery at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi.

By the end of July, Wang's team had attended to 3,757 emergency outpatient cases, treated 8,293 inpatients, and successfully completed 498 surgeries, filling critical gaps in anesthesia administration and management during gynecological laparoscopic surgeries.

Healing journey

In August 2013, Liu Qiang, an orthopedic surgeon from Xianyang Central Hospital in Shaanxi, arrived in the war-torn capital of Khartoum as a member of the 31st batch of the Chinese medical team sent to Sudan. Amid ongoing conflicts and rampant diseases in the region, the team was faced with daunting challenges upon their arrival.

"Seeing the dire conditions of the assisted hospital at that time, every team member was determined to do their utmost, utilizing all resources and conditions available to overcome obstacles and provide the best care to local patients," the 46-year-old says.

During his mission, he encountered a critical emergency case, when a patient had extensive skin wounds on the lower limbs, with X-rays revealing five fractures in the foot, posing a life-threatening situation.

With only two steel needles available in the hospital, Liu led his team in administering fluids and blood transfusions to stabilize the patient's vital organs. Resourceful in the face of shortage of medical supplies, he divided the two needles into multiple segments to successfully secure the five fractures, stabilized the lower leg fracture with an external fixator, and properly treated the skin wounds.

"Each one of us foreign aid team members does our best, utilizing all available resources and conditions, using every means to overcome various difficulties in order to meet the medical and disease treatment needs of the local residents. I feel that everything we do is so meaningful," Liu says.

Following the surgery, the patient's limbs were saved, a result that brought surprise and relief to local doctors and the patient's family, who praised the Chinese medical team, exclaiming, "Chinese doctors are amazing!"

Over the span of two years on the medical mission, Liu has demonstrated exceptional medical skills. During the turmoil in Sudan, he treated 76 gunshot victims, disregarding personal safety for the urgent care of those in need.

He was later honored with various awards, hailed as one of the most outstanding doctors in Shaanxi and a role model in the field of foreign medical aid.

"I hope to set foot on Sudanese soil again, contributing more to the local people and fulfilling the duties of a doctor," Liu says.

As the first female head of a medical team sent from Shaanxi to Sudan, Guo Yong, 53, hopes her firsthand experiences would serve as a powerful motivator for more of her colleagues to take part in medical-assistance missions.

Leading the 34th batch of the medical team in 2018, Guo from the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, initiated a restoring vision project, providing free surgeries to impoverished cataract patients in Sudan. About 159 impoverished cataract patients benefited from the project, regaining their sight.

Sharing knowledge

Given the challenging healthcare conditions, helping build the local medical talent pool is also on the agenda of the Chinese medical teams to Africa, just as the old Chinese proverb — Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

From 2013 to 2015, Lu Jian, a neurosurgeon from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, joined the 31st batch of the Shaanxi medical aid team to Sudan.

Upon arrival at the China-Sudan Omdurman Friendship Hospital in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, Lu conducted a detailed survey of the hospital's neurosurgery-related work conditions, including personnel, equipment, wards, operating rooms and other facilities.

After a thorough study, Lu found that the hospital's infrastructure fell short of the requirements for neurosurgery. After multiple discussions and exchanges with local doctors, he tailored a work plan primarily focused on outpatient services and training course for medics.

"There are about 40 neurosurgeons in Sudan. In outpatient clinics and wards, I focused on sharing basic theories, principles and methods of modern neurosurgery concerning common and prevalent diseases in the area with local colleagues," Lu says.

He organized lectures, introducing local neurosurgeons to the latest knowledge and innovative technologies in modern neurosurgery. He helped local doctors save critically ill patients. In the face of extremely challenging environment and limited conditions, he successfully translated the second and third volumes of the book, Neurosurgery Practice Manual — Discourses of the Masters.

After the foreign medical aid work, a Sudanese neurosurgeon influenced by him came to Xi'an Jiaotong University to pursue a master's degree in medicine.

Bridge of friendship

In May 2022, after a rigorous selection and more than six months of training, An Peng from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University joined the 37th batch of the Chinese (Shaanxi) medical aid team to Sudan.

"As an acupuncture doctor in foreign aid, I hope to help patients through acupuncture, introduce China to the world through acupuncture, and tell our story to the world through acupuncture," An says.

Upon arriving in Sudan, An faced a series of daunting challenges. With poor healthcare conditions, high prevalence of infectious diseases, and the raging COVID-19 pandemic at the time, the medical team members were constantly exposed to infection risks. Moreover, Sudan's perennial high temperatures, frequent water stoppages and social security concerns added to the challenges. Despite these obstacles, An did not flinch, swiftly adjusting his mindset and immersing himself in the intense medical aid work.

During the aid mission, An primarily worked in the acupuncture clinic at the China-Sudan Omdurman Friendship Hospital and a Chinese clinic inside the presidential palace in Khartoum, which was set up two decades ago and has been operating with the help of the consecutive teams of Chinese doctors.

As the head of the TCM group in the foreign aid medical team, An fully leveraged the unique value of traditional Chinese medicine, bringing health and hope to the local people. He utilized the advantages of "simple and cost-effective" traditional Chinese medicine to provide efficient and economical treatment solutions for local patients.

One patient who left a deep impression on An was a chef working at the presidential palace in Khartoum. He suffered from frozen shoulder, making it difficult for him to lift his arm and move freely. After several sessions of acupuncture treatment, the patient's frozen shoulder significantly improved, giving him much comfort and relief.

"If there is a need, I am always ready to participate in foreign medical aid project with full spirit and abundant work enthusiasm," An says.

Pan Minyue and Feng Qian contributed to the story.