The government and the Chinese embassy on Thursday awarded certificates to the outgoing eleventh batch of the Chinese medical team, recognizing their excellent medical services to the local people in the country.
During the awarding ceremony held at the Chinese embassy in Juba, Yolanda Awel Deng Nathan Nyuon, the Minister of Health, said that successive Chinese medical teams have positively impacted the health sector of the country through sharing medical knowledge and skills.
“When Chinese doctors come here, they are also learning from us, there are some techniques that we have here that are localized to South Sudan that they will leave with. So for me, I take it as a symbiotic relationship,” Deng said.
She praised the 11th batch of the China medical team for their medical outreach services that have benefited local communities outside the capital.
“There was an event that I was involved in, where the Chinese medical treated our own South Sudanese soldiers so it is positive,” Deng disclosed.
Deng noted that the ongoing Phase II expansion and modernization of the main referral Juba Teaching Hospital, being implemented by the Chinese government will not only improve health service delivery but will also come with technology upgrades.
Anthony Lupai Simon, Director General of Juba Teaching Hospital, said that the 11th batch of the China medical team has been hardworking and dedicated to both treating the sick and also to train local South Sudanese medical staff at the health facility.
“I and my team at Juba Teaching Hospital would like to testify, that we had a good time with the eleventh batch of the Chinese medical team, they were there in all the departments treating patients, they were in the hospital teaching not only medical interns, but they also took their team to teach our people Chinese language and I think that is the cultural part of their presence in South Sudan,” Lupai said.
Harriet Akello Pasquale Leone, undersecretary in the Ministry of Health, said that the excellent collaboration over the past years between the two countries in the medical field has yielded positive benefits.
She said that the successive Chinese medical teams have been donating medical supplies to the people of South Sudan, supporting in many developmental projects and most importantly supporting capacity-building initiatives.
Ma Wenjun, Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in South Sudan, said that the 11th batch of the China medical team has made selfless contributions and worked tirelessly, achieving outstanding results and gaining recognition, praise, and respect from the people of South Sudan.
“I hope that the 12th batch of the China medical team will follow in these footsteps, carry forward the spirit of overcoming difficulties, be willing to contribute more, save lives with boundless love, treat South Sudan as your second home, wholeheartedly serve the patients here, and make new and greater contributions to promote China-South Sudan medical cooperation and deepen friendship between our two countries,” Ma said.
Chen Si, team leader of the outgoing 11th batch of China medical team, said that the pediatric department, infectious disease department, and laboratory department of his team launched a series of theoretical and practical training through counterpart hospital cooperation mechanisms between China and South Sudan, which effectively improved local doctors’ ability of diagnosing and treating common infectious diseases.
“Under our tireless effort, a medical telediagnosis center and a medical microbiology laboratory were built and put into operation,” Chen said.
Du Changyong, team leader of the 12th batch of the China medical team, said they will work to develop the specialist center and push forward to construct the cooperation mechanism between counterpart hospitals in South Sudan and China.
He added that they will also maintain standard operations like the cervical disease screening center, and also work to improve continuously the diagnostic and medical care capacity of Juba Teaching Hospital.
Over the past 12 years, a total of 164 Chinese medical personnel have served in South Sudan, providing medical care to over 70,000 patients, performing more than 1,000 surgeries, and conducting over 1,300 endoscopic examinations.
They have also conducted 21 free clinics in grassroots communities, treating over 30,000 patients.
