STORY: Chinese medical team treats over 20,000 Sierra Leonean patients during one-year mission
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 22, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 24, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:59
LOCATION: Freetown
CATEGORY: HEALTH

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Chinese medical team in Sierra Leone
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): CHEN YONGJUN, Head of Chinese medical team in Sierra Leone
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MELROSE DURING, Charge nurse of maternity unit of Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital
4. various of the Chinese medical team in Sierra Leone

STORYLINE:

The 24th batch of the Chinese medical team in Sierra Leone has provided care for more than 20,000 local patients during its one-year mission.

Chen Yongjun, head of the team, told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday that the team has carried out over 400 surgeries and trained many local medical staff during the period.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): CHEN YONGJUN, Head of Chinese medical team in Sierra Leone"During the one-year mission, we have overcome difficulties and fulfilled our duties. We received a total of 22,000 local outpatients, 1,500 local inpatients, 1,200 Chinese patients, and performed more than 400 surgeries. In the meantime, we also carried out over 10 health promotion activities in local communities, schools, mining sites, and orphanages, which has benefited more than 1,000 residents."

The team, which consists of 21 top-notch Chinese medical specialists from central China's Hunan Province, covers a range of areas from neurology to obstetrics and is scheduled to wrap up its mission in March after a replacement arrives.

Describing the work as "challenging," Chen said the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital, where the team is based, has long suffered from a lack of electricity, water and medical equipment, a difficult problem shared by many other hospitals across the country.

"Despite all the challenges, we have completed the mission and won respect from Sierra Leonean counterparts and patients," Chen said.

Melrose During, charge nurse of the hospital's maternity unit, told Xinhua that Chinese doctors always stand ready to reach out and help locals.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MELROSE DURING, Charge nurse of maternity unit of Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital
"They (local patients) have confidence in them, and they feel good when they come. They see a Chinese doctor. So many techniques and maneuvers, because if I have difficult cases, I call them. We work together, and in the end, we have success. So it's good because I've learned so much from them."

Qin Fanghua, a team member, told Xinhua that she enjoys mingling with local patients and residents while fulfilling her duty as a nurse in the children's ward.

"I will miss everything in Sierra Leone after I leave," Qin added.

China dispatched its first medical team to Sierra Leone in 1973 and has since sent a total of 24 teams, contributing to the improvement of the health sector in the West African country.

In December 2023, Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio posted a tweet on X, formerly Twitter, saying, "I expressed our deep gratitude to the Chinese medical team for their commitment to improving the country's healthcare service delivery."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Freetown.
(XHTV)