1,413 Africans trained by Hebei medical team to fight COVID-19

A medical team comprising 12 experts from North China's Hebei province has trained 1,413 African medical staff members during a month-long aid mission and attended over 130 events to share Chinese experience in fighting COVID-19, according to the Health Commission of Hebei.

The team, a mix of specialists from the fields of testing, respiratory medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and infectious disease control, departed for Africa on May 11 from Shijiazhuang, capital city of Hebei.

They went to three countries in Africa - the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe - before they finished the task on June 9.

During their month-long stay in Africa, they shared with local hospital staff the Chinese experience in various aspects, including the management of isolation wards, methods of disinfection, and treatment of patients in critical condition.

The health commission in Hebei held a conference on Sunday to sum up the team's work in Africa and thank members for their contribution in the united fight against COVID-19, which also strengthened the friendship between China and Africa. Each of them was given a certificate of honor during the conference.

As parts of the country's medical aid for foreign countries, Hebei has continually sent medical teams to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nepal for many years.

As of now, the province has sent a total of 503 medical staff to the Democratic Republic Congo 19 times on aid missions and 211 times to Nepal on 12 aid missions.

Over 4 million patients in the two countries have received treatment from the medical teams, who also have carried out more than 100,000 surgeries there.

More than 1,200 local medical staff have received training from dispatched medical staff, among whom over 80 were awarded with presidential medals or other honors in the foreign countries.

Han Yifei in Shijiazhuang contributed to the story.