Chinese medical team donates medical supplies to Ethiopian hospital

ADDIS ABABA - The 25th batch of the Chinese medical team in Ethiopia has donated much-needed medical supplies to the Tirunesh-Beijing Hospital, also known as the Ethio-China Friendship Hospital, located on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, the East African country's capital.

Addressing the handover ceremony on Wednesday evening, Eshetu Tadele, chief executive officer of Tirunesh-Beijing Hospital, hailed the successive Chinese medical teams for their "life-saving contributions" to the people of Ethiopia and for imparting medical knowledge and skills to their Ethiopian counterparts in the process.

He said Chinese medical teams based at the hospital have demonstrated that "the health system has no boundary. That is why you showed your heart and your kindness in helping Ethiopia."

Highlighting that the latest donation of medical supplies marks the third such contribution to the hospital within a year, Tadele said a recent similar donation, coupled with a successful skills transfer initiative, has enabled the establishment of a fully-equipped eye treatment unit at the hospital.

"I would like to thank you very much for the huge and tremendous donation to our hospital. Since the establishment of this hospital, the Chinese government has been donating lots of medical equipment, and lots of experts have been assigned to our hospital to help Ethiopian communities," Tadele said.

"I would like to thank you for the support in terms of human resources, medical equipment, and skills transfer, which strengthens the health system in Ethiopia," he added.

While welcoming the 26th batch of the Chinese medical team, the hospital community also commended the outgoing team members for their "important support" in safeguarding the health and well-being of the Ethiopian people.

They underscored that Chinese doctors' service is a vivid manifestation of the two countries' growing people-to-people ties.

Liu Junying, head of the 25th batch of the Chinese medical team, said his team, which began work at Tirunesh-Beijing Hospital in May 2024, has been delivering medical services to Ethiopian communities as part of the long-standing Sino-Ethiopian health cooperation.

He further reiterated China's commitment to sending successive medical teams to provide healthcare for Ethiopians in need, while also sharing expertise with local medical professionals.

The newly dispatched 26th Chinese medical team, consisting of 16 specialists across various fields, continues China's medical mission to Ethiopia, which has been serving the local population since the 1970s.