Chinese Government dispatches 19th medical team to Sino-Congolese Friendship Hospital in N'djili

On June 8, 2020, the 19th Chinese medical team to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo was dispatched from Shijiazhuang, Heibei Province.

They flew to Ndjili, Kinshasa, where they were assigned to work at the Sino-Congolese Friendship Hospital for a one-year medical mission.

The purpose of their trip was to fulfill a previous agreement between the two governments to provide health services for the people of the DRC and participate in the prevention and control of COVID-19.

The team was made up of 19 members, specializing in the following fields: emergency medicine, gastroenterology, general surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, gynecology, traditional Chinese medicine, anesthesia, nursing, medical imaging, public health, and French translation.

Some of the services they provided included free clinic services, guidance on infectious disease prevention and control, and disease health consultation and guidance for Chinese-funded enterprises and Chinese in Congo Prior to embarking on their mission, the team engaged in six months of training in French and international etiquette.

The Chinese embassy in the Democratic Republic of Congo was tasked with leading the team, and Wang Jiechao, vice president of Heibei Geriatric Hospital, was the captain of the medical team. The Chinese Government has been sending medical teams to the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1973. However, due to internal turmoil, the Chinese Government stopped sending medical teams from 1997 to 2008.

Hubei Province has been responsible for sending the medical teams.