"Thank you, messengers of friendship between Morocco and China"

Members of the Sedat detachment of the Chinese medical team assisting Morocco exchanged work with the medical staff of the Moroccan side. Photo by Mariam Ali

Since 1975, China has been sending medical teams to Morocco. At present, the Chinese medical team in Morocco has one headquarters and eight detachments, the headquarters is in the capital Rabat, and the eight detachments are located in remote mountainous and desert areas such as Muhammadiyah, Meknes and Sedat, and dozens of team members carry out diagnosis and treatment in local public hospitals. A few days ago, our reporter made a special trip to Sedat to interview members of the Chinese medical team working there.

"The needs of my work, the needs of my patients and the support of my family are all my motivations"

At noon, Zhou Long, an obstetrician and gynecologist from the Sedat detachment of the Chinese medical team assisting Morocco, had just returned to his place of residence when his mobile phone rang again. "A woman is in urgent need of surgery!" Zhou Long said, got up and was about to go out, and the captain of the detachment, Zhang Jianhai, and the deputy captain Cai Bin also followed. Zhang Jianhai said: "You have done several surgeries in the morning, it is very hard, let's divide the work in the afternoon." ”

At local hospitals, it is the norm for Chinese doctors to go to emergency rooms together. Considering that the dormitory of the Sedat detachment is located on the campus, the emergency work is generally entrusted to Chinese doctors. "Chinese doctors work closely with local medical staff, which not only allows doctors and patients to communicate more smoothly, but also allows them to do their jobs better." Zhang Jianhai said.

The operation went smoothly and an 8-pound baby landed on the ground. Halimah, a local midwife who has worked here for three years, said Chinese doctors delivered the most babies in Sideat.

Zhou Long is the deputy chief physician of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Shanghai First People's Hospital. "A lot of people working in medicine have a dream of giving everyone access to medical rights," she said. This is the main reason why I signed up for foreign aid. "When I signed up for foreign aid, Zhou Long's children were still in kindergarten." The demands of my work, the needs of my patients and the support of my family are all motivations for me. She said that when she returns to China after the completion of the aid period, her child will go to primary school, "I hope that my foreign aid experience will give her a positive education and make her more loving and compassionate."

"Improve the local medical level and build a medical team that cannot be taken away"

The Sedat detachment was the first medical point set up by the Chinese medical team to Morocco. Members of the Sedat detachment work in the departments of orthopedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, general surgery, anesthesiology and other departments at Hassan II Hospital in Setat province. During the period of foreign aid, the team members overcame various difficulties and stayed on the front line. Zhang Jianhai said that walking on Setat Street, passers-by often stop and greet them warmly, or sincerely express their gratitude. "Medical teams have become an important part of the local medical force. I am very pleased to think that our work has brought more health to the Moroccan people. ”

In the afternoon, Fan Xiaosheng, chief of the Chinese medical team to aid Morocco, drove from Rabat to Sedat. He said to Zhang Jianhai: "The Spring Festival is coming, I came to see you and brought some supplies. These two large lanterns can be hung on the premises. ”

Fan Xiaosheng told reporters that over the past year or so, the medical team has strengthened communication and cooperation with local medical institutions, shared China's experience, and made a lot of progress. The headquarters and the National Cooperation Office of the Ministry of Health of Morocco have established an information-sharing mechanism to communicate and cooperate in a timely manner; The Muhammadiya detachment cooperated with the China Cultural Center to carry out a special lecture on traditional Chinese medicine entitled "The Medical Team Helps Moldova Has Something to Say"; The Meknes team performed the first surgery in many local hospitals, including difficult flap transplantation and closed negative pressure drainage; The Agadir detachment donated a large number of medical equipment to the local hospital; The Chefchaouen team actively participated in the free clinic and completed more than 100 cataract surgeries; The Rachidiye detachment successfully operated on a 107-year-old Moroccan abscess; The "Clinical Work Manual of Obstetrics and Gynecology of China's Medical Team Aided Moroccan Hospital" was published and distributed locally...

Fan Xiaosheng said that Morocco's domestic medical infrastructure needs to be improved, and the members of the medical team often experience that there is still great potential in carrying out medical and health education in the local area. "The Chinese medical team is ready to make some small cards to popularize medical knowledge in response to local needs, and increase the intensity of holding lectures and going to rural free clinics to help more local people prevent and detect diseases early."

Zhang Jianhai told reporters that everyone usually pays great attention to the diagnosis and treatment teaching and clinical guidance of local medical staff. "It is better to teach people to fish than to teach people to fish. Batch after batch of members of the Chinese medical team have continued to work hard to help improve the local medical level and build a medical team that cannot be taken away. Zhang Jianhai said.

"I must build the house beautifully, so that the Chinese doctor feels like returning to his own home"

In the northwest corner of the hospital, a small three-story building under construction stands out. This will be the dormitory building for Chinese doctors in the Sedat detachment, which is expected to be completed in another two months. In order to improve the living conditions of the Chinese medical team, the Moroccan Ministry of Health has earmarked funds for the construction of dormitory buildings. Hadir Mohammed, director of the health department of Setat province, often brought designers to the site to check on the progress of the project.

In front of the dormitory building, workers are loading dirt and preparing to plant greenery. In the building, walkie-talkies, wooden floors, single bathrooms and other facilities have been completed. Engineering captain Azore is checking the condition of the circuit. Seeing the Chinese doctor coming, he greeted happily: "We must build the house beautifully, so that the Chinese doctor will be like returning to his own home!" Azore had also dealt with Chinese doctors before. Once, his finger was seriously injured during construction, and it was the emergency treatment of Chinese doctors that made him recover quickly.

The team members held a small meeting together to discuss the arrangement of the dormitory building and the preparation of the completion ceremony. Everyone said: "The construction of a dormitory building for Chinese doctors reflects the full affirmation of the work of the Chinese medical team by the Moldovan side, and is also a vivid embodiment of the friendly cooperation between China and Morocco. We need to continue this tradition. ”

Just after the meeting, Hadir Mohammed arrived. He told Chinese doctors: "The Chinese medical team has made great contributions to Moroccan health. Thank you, Egyptian-Chinese Friendship Messengers!"

(Cedarte, Morocco)

People's Daily (Version 03, January 30, 2023)