Hospital ship lends a helping hand

Pediatrician Du Kan checks a child on Eydhafushi in the Maldives. Du is on the hospital ship Peace Ark for an aid mission to Asian and African nations. Zhang Hao / for China Daily

Residents of K. Guraidhoo wait to consult Chinese doctors from the Peace Ark. The hospital ship offered free medical treatment to locals between June 29 and July 5.

Peace Ark provides free checkups and treatment for locals at holiday destination in the Maldives.

As the sole doctor at the only clinic on K. Guraidhoo, a remote island in the Maldives with a population of just 4,000, Lokendra Singh is accustomed to doing everything himself.

The 42-year-old general practitioner said he pulls teeth in the morning, stitches gashed chins in the afternoon and is often woken in the middle of the night to deliver a baby.

When a medical team, including a gynecologist, a dentist, a surgeon, a pharmacist and several nurses, from the Chinese hospital ship Peace Ark arrived on the island to provide free medical services, Singh was elated that he'd been given a chance to learn from specialists.

As the team performed its work, Singh rushed between the consulting rooms, insisting that he needed to learn as much as possible during the hospital ship's short stay.

Beyoola Varghese, 29, one of two nurses at the clinic, is also the island's midwife. She acted as an interpreter and assistant to the Chinese gynecologist.

Having trained in India for three years, she laments that the Maldives has no medical school. If she wants to further her medical education, she will have to travel overseas again.

"The medical resources are quite limited on our island and a training session is one of things we need most urgently," she said. "I have learned a lot from the Chinese doctor, and I want to attend the nursing training program the Peace Ark is providing. The ship will only stay here for about a week, but the knowledge I will gain will be of long-lasting benefit."

Long-term benefits

The Maldives, a chain of 26 atolls scattered across the Indian Ocean, was the second port of call for the Peace Ark, which is scheduled to visit eight countries during its 118-day voyage, providing free medical treatment. Equipped as a world-class hospital, the medical teams provide free check-ups, medication and surgery for residents of its host countries, according to Guan Bailin, deputy commander of the 2013 Peace Ark mission and the head of the Chinese Navy's health department.

"More important, we provide professional training for local medical staff, so the people will benefit even after we leave," he said. "The Peace Ark mission aims to provide long-term help and care."

In contrast to the popular romantic image of the Maldives, one of the world's most visited tourist destinations, the country's "residency islands" (as opposed to those devoted to tourism) have a low level of development and lack medical resources.

Most people on K. Guraidhoo earn an average of 10,000 Ruffiya ($652) a month through fishing or by working in the tourism industry, according to a local official.

Two hundred meters offshore is a five-star resort, costing more than $1,000 a night. From the beach on K. Guraidhoo, where the local boys kick a soccer ball among the garbage washed from the ocean, one can see the lights from the waterside villas and tourists strolling on the white sand.

The fierce tropical sunshine and frequent coral cuts mean skin diseases are common among the local fishing folk, according to the official, but the island doesn't have a dermatologist.

An obstetrician is also needed, because two or three babies are born almost every month. "The doctor is unable to perform cesarean sections here, so women undergoing a difficult labor have to be transferred to Male, the capital, but the delay can be dangerous for both mother and baby," said Zhang Lanmei, a Peace Ark gynecologist, who visited several islands in the chain to provide check-ups for local women. "I taught the local doctors as much as I could to help them reduce the risks."

During the Peace Ark's seven-day stay at the port of Male, nearly 3,000 local residents received free health checks and treatment.