China nurses medical field in 41 countries

China has helped train nearly 100,000 medical professionals in developing countries and established paired cooperation with 46 hospitals in 41 countries in the past decade along side the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday.

The commission said that 25 clinical centers were set up specializing in a specific field of disease as a result of the initiative that was launched around ten years ago.

Chinese medical workers have also been dispatched to a number of countries including Pakistan, Cambodia, Sudan and Jamaica to provide free treatment for local cataract patients and children with congenital heart diseases, the commission said during an interview with Health Times, a newspaper administered by the commission, on Tuesday.

They have also been sent to Pacific island countries such as Fiji and Tonga to offer free diagnosis and therapies. Cross-border medical cooperation projects have also been launched with Central Asia countries, Mongolia and other neighboring countries.

Foreign medical missions comprising Chinese medical workers have benefited more than 20 million patients in foreign countries, said the commission.

The commission said that it has also stepped up cooperation regarding preventing and controlling contagious diseases with countries involved in the initiative.

Five Chinese international emergency medical aid teams have attained certification from the World Health Organization. They have been sent to the Philippines, Nepal and West Africa to help tackle Ebola outbreaks and meet medical demands after natural disasters.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, China has shared its virus control protocols with more than 160 countries and over ten international organizations.

A total of 38 anti-virus expert teams have been sent to 34 countries. China has also supplied 2.2 billion vaccines to over 120 countries and international organizations.

The commission said it will continue to deepen Belt and Road cooperation in the healthcare sector in the future.