In a pressing challenge, continent has helping hand

After 50 years of medical missions, more still needs to be accomplished

Africa's difficulties in meeting the medical needs of its people have created increasing concern, notwithstanding the help provided by China and other countries.

China, working with the United Nations and other international organizations, has increased its help in fields such as developing national health insurance systems, providing medical education and building hospitals and clinics in rural areas.

Under the auspices of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, health officials signed a declaration in Beijing on Aug 16 in which the parties made the highest political commitment to tackle the continent's most pressing health challenges. These include malaria, schistosomiasis, AIDS, reproductive health, vaccines and immune diseases.

The declaration means China will work with African countries to find sustainable, long-term solutions to health problems, including measures such as strengthening joint research efforts and trying to solve the problem of medical staff shortages. In addition to traditional methods through which medical teams are dispatched regularly, the Chinese government will upgrade its medical cooperation with Africa in the following four areas.

First, China is committed to deploying additional professional and technical personnel to help African countries develop health talent. Exchanges and cooperation among Chinese and African medical institutions will be promoted and medical professional scholarship will be provided to Africa. Both sides are also keen to set up key clinical disciplines.

Second, the Chinese government has called on the World Health Organization to ensure that in Africa healthcare is given top priority, because infectious diseases are still the continent's most pressing threat.

China has also expressed its continued support of the Millennium Development Goals on healthcare, fully aware of the burden on African countries caused by communicable and chronic diseases. China will promote universal coverage for health services in Africa with particularly close attention being paid to maternal and child health.

China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention and European scientists are doing research on preventions of schistosomiasis, malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis (TB), as well as looking at universal access to reproductive healthcare. Within three years these projects will be deployed in Ethiopia, Senegal and another seven countries.

The Ministry of Commerce has set up anti-malaria centers in 30 African countries. Through the National Health and Family Planning Commission, many technical personnel have been sent to work in these centers. Chinese medical research institutions and companies have also done epidemiological research for Africa.

Third, China is stepping up its efforts to build African health infrastructure. It has donated modular box room clinics to Chad and Zambia, and uses appropriate technology to promote cooperation in pharmaceutical product standards and regulations, so that high-quality pharmaceutical products can be easily accessible in Africa.

Chinese and African enterprises are being encouraged to swap medical technology to reduce the costs of drugs, vaccines and medical equipment. The Chinese medical teams in Zambia and Tanzania have started to undertake a number of small, short-term free clinic services, especially cataract removal surgery.

Africa's abundant flora and fauna also provide a broader platform for the use of traditional Chinese medicine in Africa. Many herbs can be found in Africa. Chinese medical teams can thus promote traditional Chinese medical science and look for alternatives to expensive imported drugs.

As all of this happens, the Chinese government hopes to expand the scale of medical assistance to more countries and regions over the next five years.

Fourth, China has carried out several short-term training programs in Africa, because it knows a country's health capability extends far beyond the number of medical teams there. China is relying on its own continuous improvement in healthcare, so that training can be provided specifically for African countries. This includes laboratory training related to the prevention and control of infectious diseases such as malaria, AIDS and TB.

Many Africans are keen to learn from China's experience of the past 30 years, since reform and opening-up began, such as how to effectively prevent and control all the major infectious diseases. Educational courses on public health policy, health policy adjustment and health reform are popular in Africa.

There has been a substantial improvement in public health in China over the past 30 years, and sharing this experience with Africa will be the focus of China-Africa bilateral cooperation in the next 10 years. In addition, China will continue to work with Africa in producing low-cost high-quality health products.

Since China first dispatched medical teams to Africa 50 years ago, Chinese personnel have worked in 42 African countries, 77 hospitals and large medical projects, trained more than 20,000 medical personnel and dispatched 180,000 medical workers. Much has obviously been done, but for Africa and China there is still much more to do.

The author is a professor at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/23/2013 page9)