Spreading hope along the Belt and Road

Nicole Tung Wing-hei, a then fourth-year medical student studying at the University of Hong Kong, was shocked by the scarcity of medical resources when she went to Cambodia in January to participate in a project to treat cataract blindness. She said she realized the importance of going in person to areas in need of help, to provide support.

"There was only one doctor in that province who can do eye surgery, and that doctor is now a university dean and no longer does clinical work," Tung said.

Although the place she interned in had the largest hospital in the impoverished province, the equipment was in poor condition and the wards were crowded. Instead of seeing local doctors, wealthy locals went to Thailand or the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh for better medical treatment.

Tung was responsible for triaging the patients at the hospital, conducting health education, and visiting patients in rural villages. She got to know and work with students from Macao, the Chinese mainland, and Taiwan.

Tung told China Daily that medical students in Hong Kong have few opportunities to do practical medical work during their first three years of study. Therefore, opportunities to go overseas for humanitarian support are highly valued.

The Cambodia project that Tung participated in was the GX Foundation's first overseas intern program involving students from the mainland and other regions of China, Chan explained.

"After COVID-19, we had a lot of interest from young graduates from the mainland and Macao who wished to join the GX Foundation. They see the GX Foundation as one of the Chinese medical humanitarian work platforms that allows them to work and contribute overseas," Chan said.

"Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were students who wished to take part in humanitarian support work."

By October, the foundation had conducted over 16,000 cataract surgeries in five countries — Laos, Cambodia, Djibouti, Mauritania and Senegal. In January this year, it launched the first project of its kind for health protection against dengue fever in Timor-Leste. It also distributed 50,000 rapid dengue diagnostic kits, 500 mosquito nets, 2,600 mosquito lamps and 30,000 insect glue traps.