Sino-Indian medical team helps Yunnan village

Manpreet Singh Kakkar has an unusual ambition.

"I really wish I could do something to set up mobile dental vans everywhere for the disadvantaged," the 32-year-old dentist said.[Special coverage]

The Indian has just completed a five-day stint of volunteer work in a village in Yunnan province where people have no access to basic dental care.

Kakkar is one of 18 doctors on a Sino-Indian medical team that took part in the program in Jinping county from Sept 12 to Tuesday as part of the two countries' Friendship and Exchange Year programs.

Nine Indian doctors - including dentists, orthopedists, pediatricians and ear, eye, nose and throat specialists - and nine Chinese doctors provided medical advice to about 100 villagers and donated medicine worth 15,000 yuan ($2,440) to them.

The trip was Kakkar's first to China. To his surprise, he found that there is no dentistry department at county level in Jinping, and the dental treatment that hospitals there can provide is limited to pulling teeth.

Sudhindra Kammachi, 37, a general practitioner who runs his own clinic in India, said he has learned many valuable things on the visit.

"It is an opportunity for me to have a basic understanding of the healthcare system in remote areas of China where there is poverty," he said.

The trip is valuable in cementing cooperation between India and China, he said.

The Sino-Indian joint medical team was set up in 2008 to mark the 70th anniversary of Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis' help to China during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). It is the fourth time since the team's creation that it has provided free medical service in a rural area of one of the countries.

Kotnis volunteered to join the Indian medical assistance team to China in 1938 and died in Hebei province in 1942 at the age of 32. In addition to being known for his dedication and perseverance, he has also been portrayed as a model for the two country's friendship and collaboration.

Hu Sishe, the organizer and vice-president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said, "The present joint medical team sets a good example for people in the two counties in contributing to the disadvantaged and to humanitarian activities."

B. Pratap Reddy, head of this year's joint medical team, said this is something that Kotnis' "noble cause" bequeathed and it plays an important role in strengthening the Sino-Indian traditional friendship.

Reddy said the trip has provided an opportunity for both sides to share ideas on ensuring that people are given proper medical treatment.

"Indian team members also want to learn from China how to meet the healthcare demands of 1.3 billion Chinese people," he said.