Feature: Chinese medical team in Zimbabwe renews enduring healthcare partnership

Zimbabwe's Minister of Health and Child Care Dr. Douglas Mombeshora (C, front) poses with members of the 20th Chinese medical team after a medal awarding ceremony in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 11, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Baoping)

HARARE, March 12 (Xinhua) -- As Zimbabwe bade farewell to the eleven members of the 20th Chinese medical team with medals and heartful speeches at a ceremony here on Monday, the new aid team is ready to bring fresh air to the enduring healthcare partnership.

Arriving a year ago from Hunan Province of China at the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare, the departing team provided medical services in various departments, including general internal medicine, critical care medicine, and traditional Chinese Medicine.

Officials from the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe, members of the Health Commission of Hunan Provincial, and officials from Zimbabwe's Health Ministry attended the ceremony, honoring the service of aid workers which embodies the friendship between the two countries.

"Coming to serve in Zimbabwe entails a lot of sacrifice which includes leaving their families and friends behind for a whole year. We cherish your unwavering commitment to save humankind," said Zimbabwe's Vice President Constantino Chiwenga in the speech on behalf of the Minister of Health and Child Care Dr. Douglas Mombeshora.

He applauded the departing team for delivering efficient and effective health services to local communities.

He also acknowledged the level and diversity of their expertise, critical for capacity building and medical students' training.

"The medical teams have often filled some of our gaps and introduced new ideas to our systems. In recognition of the expertise, we have decided to deploy the China Medical Teams to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, our country's premier health institution, where opportunities to work with various local specialists and teaching of medical students are available," he said.

"The twinning arrangement has so far seen our own Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals establishing a Health Informatics and Telemedicine Centre, a state-of-the-art Respiratory and Critical Care Unit with training facilities for medical students specializing in that area," said Chiwenga.

In his remarks, Charge d'affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe Cheng Yan congratulated the outgoing team on completing its mission successfully and welcomed the new cohort.

"The 21st China Medical Team just arrived last week. I believe they will carry forward the spirit of the China Medical Team, keep up good work and make greater contributions to China-Zimbabwe health cooperation," he said.

He reiterated China's commitment to enhancing cooperation with Zimbabwe in the healthcare sector, saying that this year China will provide more training programs for Zimbabwean medical personnel.

"The health sector has always been one of the focuses of China's cooperation with Zimbabwe. China has been providing all-around support to Zimbabwe's health sector," Cheng added.

In his farewell speech, the captain of the departing team, Ouyang Bin, reviewed the 14 free consulting sessions they organized in communities, schools, and orphanages, covering all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe.

"We have traveled far from home to come to Africa, and though our time together spans just a year, we have forged profound bonds of emotion and friendship. As we approach the end of our mission and prepare to return to China, our hearts are filled with a myriad of emotions. We feel a longing for our homeland, yet we also feel a deep attachment to the people of Zimbabwe and the Chinese diaspora residing here," he said.

"We believe that, just like in the past 39 years, batches after batches of China Medical Teams will continue to come to Zimbabwe, taking over the baton from their predecessors, and carry on providing healthcare services for the people of Zimbabwe," he added.

In 1985, the first Chinese medical teams arrived in Zimbabwe, establishing the foundation of the enduring partnership in healthcare between the two countries.

Through such cooperation, hospitals such as the Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital and the Mahusekwa China-Zimbabwe Friendship Hospital were also constructed.