Chinese medical team donates medicines, equipment to South Sudan's main hospital

JUBA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The 12th batch of the Chinese medical team on Wednesday donated medicines and medical equipment to South Sudan's Juba Teaching Hospital ahead of the festive season.

Harriet Akello Pasquale, undersecretary of the National Ministry of Health, said the donation came at a critical time when medical staff are expected to deal with critical emergency cases stemming from road accidents and diseases that may arise during the festive season.

"These donations are timely, because every year during the Christmas season there is really a high need of having available sufficient medical supplies. During Christmas, we normally receive a lot of casualties, people may come due to intoxication of alcohol, injuries and many other diseases, that is why it is important to have available medical supplies in place," Pasquale said during the donation ceremony in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

Pasquale noted that this is not the first time that the Chinese people and their government have supported South Sudanese, adding that previous Chinese medical teams have not only donated medicines and hi-tech medical equipment but also trained their South Sudanese counterparts in various fields.

"Today we are in a modern building at Juba Teaching Hospital, and we have been receiving training in various medical fields and even we have the Chinese medical team embedded in Juba Teaching Hospital to work with the team at the hospital and give them all the necessary support in terms of service delivery and also in improving access to diagnosis and provision of diagnosis with high technology," she added.

The Chinese government is currently implementing the second phase of the Juba Teaching Hospital modernization and expansion project, to improve the delivery of health services in the main referral hospital.

Anthony Lupai Simon, director-general of Juba Teaching Hospital, said the donation of medicines and equipment demonstrates the strong relationship between China and the people of South Sudan.

He also commended the Chinese medical team for training the local medical personnel in the hospital and providing medical treatment to vulnerable people both in Juba and remote areas of the country.

Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan Ma Qiang said that the medicines and medical instruments will ease the work of the staff at the hospital and also alleviate the financial burdens of the local patients.

Ma noted China medical teams have been delivering healthcare services to South Sudanese communities for over a decade through direct medical outreach and also providing capacity-building training to local doctors.

Over the past 12 years, a total of 180 Chinese medical personnel have served in South Sudan, providing medical services to over 80,000 patients, performing more than 1,400 surgeries, and rescuing 2,692 patients in critical condition.