Ａｎｇｅｌｓ ｉｎ Ｗｈｉｔｅ ｆｒｏｍ Ｃｈｉｎａ

Since China dispatched the first foreign aid medical team to the African continent in April 1963， over the past more than 40 years， the Chinese medical teams， whose size has gradually expanded， have been highly praised and favourably commended by the governments and people of the African countries， greatly promoting the deepening and development of friendly relations between China and the African countries.

At the time when Algeria won its independence in 1962， the people there lived a very poor life. Diseases were spreading， and there was a serious shortage of doctors and medicine and almost no medical care and health service system in the country. Through the International Committee of the Red Cross， the Algerian Government asked for help from the international community， but the Western countries turned a deaf ear to it. Soon after that， the Algerian Government through the diplomatic channel asked the Chinese Government to send medical teams to their country. At that time China had just come out of the shadow of the 3-year natural disasters， and was fully occupied with domestic tasks. Nevertheless， with a view to supporting and helping the African people who had just won independence and liberation， and developing friendly relations with African countries， the Chinese leaders promptly made a strategic decision to dispatch a medical team to Algeria. Then planned by Premier Zhou Enlai personally， it only took three days that the first batch of medical teams for foreign aid was formed. The team sent to Algeria was composed of 24 persons， most of them coming from Hubei Province， others from Beijing， Shanghai， Tianjin， Jiangsu， Liaoning， Jilin and Hunan.By taking the prompt action， China turned out to be the first country that gave positive response to the Algerian Government’s appeal.

According to incomplete statistics， in the past more than 40 years， China has successively sent 16，000 (person/times) “angels in white” to 47 African countries. They have healed the wounded and rescued the dying African people and given treatment to 240 million patients (person/times). In 2005 there were 36 Chinese medical teams with more than 1，100 doctors working at 94 clinics in 35 African countries and regions， among them the teams with 120 doctors in aid of Morocco being the largest in size.

The members of the Chinese medical teams dispatched to Africa are mostly aged between 30 and 50. The majority of them have medium-level or senior professional titles. They not only have cured a great number of common diseases and frequently-occurring diseases， but also successfully carried out many difficult technical services such as heart surgical operation， tumour excision， replantation of a severed limb， etc. They have saved many patients who were critically ill and created medical wonders one after another. At the same time， by working together with local medical workers， giving lectures on special subjects and conducting training courses， the Chinese team members imparted skills to the local medical personnel， who have gradually become the backbone of the medical workers in the recipient countries， helping raise the level of diagnosis and treatment in these countries.

In the African continent， the patients who have been treated and cured by the Chinese medical teams， whether they are government officials or common people， have all personally experienced Chinese doctors’ selfless dedication， high medical ethics and superb medical skills. Particularly， the Chinese doctors’ indomitable will to overcome difficulties and whole-hearted devotion to the work have left deep impressions on them. Even today， a touching story that happened more than 20 years ago is still much told. In the early 1980s， to fulfill the requirement of development of the medical and health work in the whole country， the Zambian Government decided that the Chinese medical team should be transferred to another city. When the news spread out， it rapidly caused a great stir in the city where the Chinese medical team was working.

The local people through radio and newspapers called out “We need Chinese doctors”， and “Chinese doctors must not be transferred”. On the day when the Chinese medical team was to leave， the local people spontaneously organized a huge parade and took to the street. When the contingents of paraders passed by the city square， they shouted “The Chinese doctors must not leave”. In order to avoid causing disturbance， the government department concerned finally decided that the Chinese medical team would remain working in the city. The local media commented: “The Chinese doctors with their excellent work have won the heart of the Zambian people.”

In the past 40 years， members of the Chinese medical teams one batch after another left their motherland and their families and traveled far to Africa. They have carried on the spirit of international humanitarianism， overcome numerous difficulties in language， weather and living conditions， offered medical services wholeheartedly to the African people and with their hard work and even their lives built a bridge of friendship between China and the African countries. They are reputed by the African people as “angels in white from China”， “fine example of South-South cooperation” and “the most welcome people”.

The author is deputy director of the Editorial Department of Shanghai Public Health.