The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Defence have bid farewell to the 6th Chinese Military Medical Expert Group of 13 doctors after spending over 14 months at the Joint Medical Unit, 34 Military Hospital.

The 6th Chinese Military Medical Expert Group was dispatched to Sierra Leone in February 2022 for enhancing military medical cooperation between the Joint Medical Unit at the 34 Military Hospital and the Chinese Experts working at the Tropical Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Center (IDPC).

In his speech to the experts who will be returning in a few days, the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Wang Qing started the Government of Sierra Leone and its people highly recognize the contribution of the Chinese team. He added that it is also clear that President Julius Maada Bio, as Commander-in-Chief of the RSLAF attaches great importance to the development of close relations between the two countries and the two armed forces.

He said the corporation for Chinese Military Medical Experts to come to Sierra Leone started in 2015 when they came to help Sierra Leone in the fight against Ebola, noting that all the members of the Chinese Military Medical Expert Group are carefully selected from the People’s Liberation Army of China.

“They have proven with solid actions that they love Sierra Leone and they are serious with their lofty mission here,” Qing said.

He continued that over the past years, they have been working side by side with their Sierra Leonean counterparts at the Tropical Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Center (IDPC) at the 34 Military Hospital where they have exerted immense efforts in helping the Sierra Leonean side screen, prevent and control all kinds of epidemics.

“They have exchanged experience and expertise with the Sierra Leonean colleagues by discussing difficult cases and providing guidance to technicians. They have upgraded the software and hardware of the Infectious Diseases Surveillance System, helping turn the clinical laboratory of 34 Hospital into one of the most advanced labs in Sierra Leone. They have visited the villages to offer free consultation and medicines to patients in need,” the Chinese Ambassador said.

He went further to state that the Chinese Military Medical Expert Group has worked with the University of Sierra Leone, Njala University, and Connaught Hospital, handling 8000 samples from all over the country, and gave a thorough detection of eight kinds of infectious diseases in Sierra Leone.

“They identified anthrax last year and immediately informed the Sierra Leonean Government which responded swiftly to control the spread of this dreadful disease,” he said.

Ambassador Qing said their dedication and hard work have demonstrated a genuine friendship between China and Sierra Leone as they have endeavored to contribute to the building of an even stronger China-Africa Community with a shared future proposed by H.E. President Xi Jinping and supported by Sierra Leone.

He also stated that over the years, China has carried out fruitful cooperation in various fields including medical and healthcare, utility construction, equipment supply, personnel training, etc. In 2022, the brand new China Aided Myohaung Officers’ Mess and Single Officers’ Quarters were commissioned by H.E. President Maada Bio and a batch of machinery, vehicles, and equipment was donated and delivered by the PLA to the RSLAF to help in boosting the morale of soldiers and contributing to the consolidation of peace, security in Sierra Leone.

“Last month, President Bio commissioned the Type-C vessel to the maritime wing and named it “Madam Yoko” to remember the great female leader in the history of Sierra Leone. Several weeks ago, our two sides coordinated closely to help identify and locate a hijacked cargo ship in the Gulf of Guinea. This is another vivid example of the trust and cooperation between our two countries and two armies,” he added.

“Looking forward, we will work more closely together in the years to come to achieve more tangible results.”

He concluded by assuring China’s continuous support to Sierra Leone and also embarking on projects that will benefit both countries.

Dr. Mi Zhiqiang one of the Chinese Military Medical Expert on behalf of the group explained their experiences working in Sierra Leone and stated that this is not the first time for some of them to work in Sierra Leone which makes him believe that Sierra Leone has a kind of glamour attracting them.

He stated that their work covered training medical staff, infectious disease diagnosis, and treatment as they upgraded the software and hardware of the Infectious Diseases Surveillance System (Mobile Electronic Surveillance System for Infectious Diseases, MESSID), and trained over 50 operating staff.

“Through the MESSID system, commanders can timely know the dynamic status of infectious diseases as all across RSLAF, the too there diseases are still malaria, flu, and typhi,” Zhiqiang said.

“Through cooperation with the University of Sierra Leone, Njala University, and Connaught Hospital, we handled eight thousand samples from all over the country and gave a thorough detection on eight kinds of infectious disease, including malaria, Hepatitis B and C, HIV, toxoplasmosis, syphilis, measles, and dengue. Half the population carries malaria parasites in their body. All the latest and updated data has been provided to our co-researchers, and they will forward all the information to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation,” he added.

He said that based on the fundamental and solid data, he believed the health department will develop a detailed prevention plan.

“On last year’s Labor Day, we first confirmed anthrax onset, and immediately report the result to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. Our works directly help authorities take measures to stop this deadly disease spread,” he said.

“I am so proud and happy to see that so much great progress had been made in Sierra Leone public health in the past year, our medical staff optimized nurse job responsibility and infection control job responsibility, made an empirical management process of common disease, trained lumbar puncture and abdominal puncture skills, helped to rescue fifteen critical cases including head trauma and respiratory failure.”

While sharing their success story, he stated that a project of HBV mother-to-child prevention is under cooperation between a Sierra Leone doctor and a Chinese doctor as a child was born in January whose mother received this prevention treatment, and the newborn child is also the first child taking HBV blocking in Sierra Leone.

“Undoubtedly, It is a long journey to eradicate some kind of infectious disease. To meet this long-term goal, some achievable, specific, and scientific measures should be taken. Whatever the measure is, I think that the first and most important thing must be diagnosis and treatment, this is also the responsibility of the Chinese Military Medical Expert Group”.

“Looking back at the past year, we have so much exciting moments, such as enjoying delicious seafood, reuniting with our families at e. But the most memorable moment for us always is hearing of Sierra Leone control or eraeradicatingme some kind of disease like anthrax or seeing a child born without HBV,” Zhiqiang said.

The farewell ceremony climaxed with the presentation of certificates to the 13 Chinese Military Medical Experts for their service to Sierra Leone.