On November 3, 2023, the 55th Anniversary Commemoration Meeting of Beijing’s Foreign Aid Medical Teams and Summary Meeting of Foreign Aid Medical Teams were held. Li Wei, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department of the National Health Commission, Yuan Xuemei, Director of Foreign Aid Department of the Center for International Exchange and Cooperation, Gao Jian, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission attended the meeting and delivered speeches, and Li Hui, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal Government attended the meeting.
Yuan Xuemei spoke highly of Beijing's achievements in dispatching and managing foreign aid medical teams, saying that the Beijing Municipal Health Commission adhered to innovative development and formed a long-term and stable foreign aid management team. She hoped that the commission would continue to write a new chapter in foreign aid medical care.
Li Wei pointed out that Beijing has long been at the forefront of China in foreign aid medical work and has made beneficial explorations in dispatching health policy consultants and promoting pilot construction projects of China-Africa friendship hospitals, and providing experience that can be learned, replicated and promoted. The commission has served for China’s overall diplomacy with practical actions, and continuously enhance the friendship between China and the recipient countries.
On behalf of Zhong Dongbo, Secretary of the Municipal Health Commission, Gao Jian expressed his respect to all the foreign aid medical team members of Beijing. He said that the foreign aid medical work in Beijing will be further enhanced in the level of medical assistance and expanded in the scope of medical and health cooperation and exchanges, to promote the construction of a foreign aid medical system, build a human health community, implement global development initiatives and global security initiatives, and make a greater contribution to the process of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 of the United Nations.
At the meeting, the leaders and team members representatives of the 29thforeign aid medical team to Guinea and the first foreign aid medical team to Vanuatu made exchange speeches respectively. Relevant leaders of Beijing Tiantan Hospital and Beijing Shijitan Hospital delivered speeches on behalf of the sending units. The leaders present at the meeting awarded honorary certificates and presented flowers to all members of the two medical teams.
According to reports, Beijing began to send the first foreign aid medical team to Guinea in 1968, and has now sent a total of 56 batches of teams, a total of 1,054 members, to 12 countries and regions (30 batches to Guinea, 4 batches to Trinidad and Tobago, 10 batches to Burkina Faso, 2 batches to Vanuatu, 3 batches to Libya, 1 batch to Yugoslavia, 1 batch to Sri Lanka, 1 batch to Kuwait, 1 batch to Zambia, 1 batch to Fiji, 1 batch to Papua New Guinea, and 1 batch to the United Nations). Among them, 12 medical team members (8 aiding Burkina Faso, 3 aiding Libya, and 1 aiding Guinea) sacrificed in foreign countries.
Currently, there are two medical teams performing missions abroad, namely the 30th batch of Chinese medical teams aiding Guinea (the 24 members are from Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Beijing Municipal Health Commission and Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention), and the 2nd batch of medical teams aiding Vanuatu (the 9 members are all from Beijing Tongren Hospital).
According to incomplete statistics, the Beijing foreign aid medical team has diagnosed and treated approximately 830,000 patients, rescued approximately 169,000 critically ill patients, and completed approximately 209,000 surgeries. In recipient countries such as Guinea, the teams have created many "firsts" in local medical history and filled many medical technology gaps. Focusing on teaching the local people, a group of management and business backbones with outstanding technical capabilities were cultivated for recipient countries. A long-term exchange and support platform was established, and several medical centers were donated for recipient countries. The teams also provided services for Chinese personnel stationed abroad, Chinese-funded institutions, and overseas Chinese.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of China’s dispatch of foreign aid medical teams, and the 55th anniversary of Beijing’s dispatch. Over the past 55 years, in accordance with the relevant arrangements of the national health department and under the leadership of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, Beijing has played an important role in promoting medical and health cooperation and enhancing friendship between China and the recipient countries. The foreign aid medical work in Beijing has always ranked top in China.
01
Realized the organic unification of medical aid and public health aid
The foreign aid medical teams and the expert teams dispatched by Beijing supported Africa in fighting Ebola hemorrhagic fever, plague, and other epidemics. For the first time in China, two health consultants were sent to join the medical aid team in Guinea, who had played an active role in participating in global health diplomacy. In September 2015, the medical team aiding Guinea won the "South-South Cooperation Award 2015" of the United Nations. Since the 24th batch of medical teams aiding Guinea, five consecutive batches of captains have been awarded medals by the President of Guinea, and all team members have received certificates of honor from the Guinean government.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, the 27th, 28th, and 29th batch of medical teams aiding Guinea, despite of risks, have stuck to their posts, assisted recipient countries in anti-epidemic work, provided policy consultation and technical exchange guidance, and proactively shared China's epidemic prevention and control plans and diagnosis and treatment plans, and organized various forms of online and offline training to improve the diagnosis and treatment capabilities of recipient countries. Guinea has stated on many occasions that the medical assistance is China’s best support for Guinea.
02
Project cooperation drives discipline development and talent cultivation
Since 2018, Beijing has innovated cooperation models and working mechanisms and successfully completed the “China-Africa Friendship Hospital Construction Pilot Project” approved by the State Council. This project, relying on high-quality medical resources in the capital, systematically and comprehensively improved the diagnosis and treatment level, management level and core competitiveness of the China-Guinea Friendship Hospital, driving the comprehensive development of various disciplines in the hospital, and cultivating a group of professional backbones in Guinea. The China-Guinea Friendship Hospital has been built into an influential medical center in Guinea and even in West Africa, realizing the vision put forward by Guinea that “professional treatments for neuromedicine diseases, critical illness and trauma have been available in Guinea”.
03
More flexible and diverse dispatch methods and assistance forms
From 2014 to 2016, Beijing organized four batches of medical teams to assist Trinidad and Tobago with a 6-month working period. The work of the medical teams was positioned as clinical teaching, guidance and training of local medical staff, and the high-end medical cooperation that combines education, teaching, and research was achieved. In 2018, Beijing completed the formation, training, and dispatch of the first batch of re-deployed medical teams to Burkina Faso in just over a month, making outstanding contributions to serving China's overall diplomacy. In 2022, the formation and dispatch of the first batch of medical teams aiding Vanuatu were completed with high quality. The President of Vanuatu awarded "National Medals" to the nine members of the first batch of medical team in recognition of their contribution to improving local medical and health service levels and consolidating China-Vanuatu friendship. The expert groups from Beijing have been organized to carry out the “Bright Tour” free cataract surgery activities in Antigua, Barbuda, Jamaica and other Caribbean countries for many times, and a total of more than 1,000 Caribbean cataract patients have regained their sight. During the "Bright Tour", the expert team from Beijing also actively carried out special lectures and surgical demonstrations, attracting many medical staff from the Caribbean to come to Beijing for further training.
04
Provide good protection for team members
Achieve healthy development of foreign aid medical work
Various safeguards were provided to actively encourage health professionals to participate in foreign aid medical work. Policy documents were issued to facilitate the promotion of professional titles for foreign aid medical team members. An incentive mechanism for medical team members on successfully completing foreign aid medical work were established and improved. Further training for foreign aid medical team members with outstanding performance were arranged. Practical measures were taken to integrate the selection of foreign aid medical team members with cadre and talent training. More than 10 outstanding foreign aid medical team members have been promoted to leader positions at all levels in recent years. Beijing has done a good job in building the "Safe Medical Team" to ensure the physical and mental health of the team members. A "Foreign Aid Home" was established as a publicity platform, educational base, and historical database for medical work, continuing to expand the strength and influence of the publicity of the medical foreign aid.