Taiyuan, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Tian Yuan: There are no regrets in this life for aiding Africa.
**Reporter Fan Lifang.
In the Cameroonian Capital Women's and Children's Hospital, which is supported by Shanxi Province all the year round, the portrait of Tian Yuan and the portraits of the previous presidents are hung side by side in the outpatient hall of the hospital, witnessing the deep friendship between the Chinese medical team and the local area.
From March 2021 to May 2022, Tian Yuan, as the first captain of the Shanxi foreign aid medical team, led the 21st batch of China (Shanxi) medical teams to Cameroon, the 24th batch to Togo, and the 20th batch of Djibouti to carry out medical assistance in Africa.
At that time, as an innovation in the medical management of aid to Africa, Shanxi set up full-time captains for the first time in the medical teams of three countries to aid Africa, moving the threshold of medical aid management forward and sinking the center of gravity. This management mechanism played a role in source control and front-line command when the foreign aid work encountered the "storm" of the epidemic.
When we arrived in Africa in March 2021, at the height of the pandemic, the lack of resources was a major challenge for Africa in dealing with the pandemic. Tian Yuan said that the team members are also at risk of infection with infectious diseases such as malaria, measles, and polio, and the social security and safety situation is also very serious.
After arriving in Cameroon, Tian Yuan formulated 30 management systems, personnel division and short-term plans in five categories after research and summary, and established the "African Epidemic Prevention and Control Consultation and Mutual Aid Group" to solve the health problems of employees of Chinese-funded institutions; Carry out "cloud outpatient clinics", scientifically allocate medical resources to aid African medical teams, and form a multi-point linkage operation mechanism. The team members also overcame the difficulties of insufficient equipment, lack of medicines, and poor conditions, created conditions to carry out high-precision surgeries, participated in the rescue of various emergencies and critical diseases, dealt with various emergencies, and carried out a variety of surgical ...... that are also difficult in China
Tian Yuan discovered that Cameroonian doctor Tang Bo was fluent in Chinese, and learned that he had studied at a Chinese medical school and returned to his hometown to work after obtaining a master's degree in 2015. Tian Yuan immediately coordinated the medical team of experts from obstetrics and gynecology, general surgery, and orthopedics to train him in basic surgical skills, "Tong Bo is proficient in Chinese and French, and understands the local situation, which is not only a link between China and Kazakh medical exchanges, but also a messenger of cultural transmission between the two places. "On July 28, 2021, a patient in Cameroon suffered a finger injury and sought the Shanxi medical team**. Orthopedic expert Yu Hongwei found that the patient had an incomplete and broken middle finger on his left hand and a soft tissue laceration on the other four fingers. With the assistance of Tang Bo, Yu Hongwei completed the debridement and fixation of the patient's finger fracture.
The Shanxi foreign aid medical team donated medical supplies to the recipient hospitals. Photo courtesy of Liu Gaiying.
In Shanxi's medical aid mission, drug donation is one of the normalized tasks. But how are drugs classified and displayed? What should I do if the drug only has a Chinese name? In view of the management of donated drugs in China, Shanxi pharmacists have specially developed a drug management system, so that local pharmacists (whether they know Chinese characters or not) can accurately identify and locate drugs, ensure that the accounts of drugs are consistent, prevent the loss of drugs, and make the handover work more standardized and efficient. This innovative initiative was promoted by the National Health Commission in the national medical team.
During the foreign aid period, the medical team joined hands with Cameroon Women's and Children's Hospital and Heji Hospital affiliated to Changzhi Medical College to conduct remote consultation and discussion on a difficult case in the Department of Neurology.
Since then, the remote consultation has opened a precedent for exchanges in the health field between the two hospitals in China and Qatar, China and Canada, and has been recognized by patients, their families and recipient hospitals.
In addition to work, the medical team also worked with caring people to send warmth to the children in the orphanage. Go out for free clinics and implement targeted medical aid for poverty alleviation; "Pink Ribbon" events to raise awareness of women's health; During the Mid-Autumn Festival, medical team members from Togo, Djibouti and Cameroon made mooncakes, made dumplings, tasted delicious food with locals, and experienced Chinese culture.
The efforts of the medical team were recognized by the local population. Tian Yuan was also awarded the "June 27 Independence Day" National Medal by the Djibouti State, the "Knight of the Cameroon National Special Honor, First Class Knight" by the Cameroon State**, and the "Honorary Citizen" by the Mayor of Mbalma.
Being able to alleviate the suffering of the African people and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind is also the most unforgettable experience of my life. Talking about this experience, Tian Yuan said that he has no regrets in this life. (ENDS).