PART OF A BIGGER PICTURE
The 19th Chinese medical team in Ethiopia is not the whole story of Ethiopia-China health cooperation, but is just a part of it.
Earlier this month at a ceremony attended by outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia La Yifan, an agreement was signed to support TBGH's efforts to develop its Trauma Treatment Center and Maternal Child Health Center.
"Even though Ethiopia is a developing country, actually it's a least developed country; its government and its people are concentrated so much on the development of the health care industry," said La, explaining why China is committed to helping Ethiopia's health sector.
At present both countries are working on the construction of centers on the hospital's premises, which highlights the growing Sino-Ethiopian medical and health cooperation.
Kebede Worku, state minister of Ethiopia's Ministry of Health, said that stronger Chinese assistance in the health sector is much needed as more and more Ethiopians need treatment in non-communicable diseases.
SUCCESS AND DEDICATION
Over nearly 45 years of working in Ethiopian cities and towns, the Chinese medical teams have authored their stories of success and dedication.
Mei Gengnian, head of the first Chinese medical team to Ethiopia, died in 1975 in a car accident while he was serving local communities in Jimma town of Oromia regional state, 380 km south of Addis Ababa.
Buried near the spot where he died, his grave is being tended by a local family, and Mei's son has followed his father's footsteps by joining a medical mission to Ethiopia.
Amid success and dedication, China-Ethiopia health cooperation is continuing to progress as both sides have learned valuable lessons from each other.
More and more Ethiopians are coming to TBGH Chinese Traditional Medicine Center established in July 2015 to receive acupuncture treatment.
Despite the language barrier and different medical practices, both Ethiopian and Chinese doctors agree that they've learned a lot from each other.
Wang says she has learned how to have a better doctor-patient relationship and encourage better preventive health measures during her stay in Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, she urges Ethiopian doctors to learn from the Chinese doctors' experiences and be courageous enough to learn new skills and knowledge to improve their treatment of patients.
