The epidemic is raging and ruthless, but the love for foreign aid is boundless. The COVID-19 epidemic is still spreading around the world, but the 22nd batch of Chinese medical aid team to Zambia did not retreat due to the epidemic. According to the requirements of the Republic of Zambia, the team arrived in Zambia on schedule to participate in the one-year medical assistance mission.
The 22nd batch of Chinese medical aid team to Zambia has a total of 28 members, 9 of whom are staffs of HENU, including Professor Yang Qingping, Director of the English Teaching and Research Office of HENU, four from Huaihe Hospital of HENU (Guo Guoxiao from Department of General Surgery, Yu Qing from Department of Medical Imaging, Wang Guanghui from Department of Otorhinolaryngology, and Yan Zeng from Department of Anesthesiology) and four from the First Affiliated Hospital of HENU (Han Hongliang from Department of Anesthesiology, Yin Xiaoxiang from Department of Medical Imaging, Ren Chunfu from Department of Stomatology, and Guo Ertao from Department of Gastroenterology). Our medical team will provide medical assistance in Zambia for one year under the leadership of Dean Zhao Haiyuan (team leader) and Professor Yang Qingping of HENU (interpreter).
Currently, Zambia is like China in the 1980s and 1990s. Although the capital Lusaka is the largest and most developed city in Zambia, its infrastructure and roads are not as good as those of common county towns in China. The living conditions are even worse than those in China. The working conditions here are also very poor, very difficult, and very primitive. The hospitals in Lusaka are not as good as the township ones in China. But, we have overcome all difficulties.
When we first arrived in Zambia, Professor Yang Qingping was one of the busiest persons. He and Zhao Haiyuan (the team leader) were busy helping us with various documents every day, and frequent dealings with the local government, especially the local Ministry of Health. Due to our language barrier, Professor Yang Qingping took all the heavy burdens, but he worked hard and did not complain. After the other eight of us officially went to work, we tried our best to overcome all difficulties. Although the working conditions were difficult, we did not complain. We are all very content and optimistic, because we all know the purpose of coming here – providing consultation and services to the people of Zambia, and contributing meager strength to Zambia's medical cause.
We need to bring our own protective items such as masks, hats, protective clothing and isolation gowns for work, because the protective items we need are unavailable here. Even some of the medical equipment we need in our diagnosis and treatment are also brought from China. By doing so, we can provide Zambian people with better and more comprehensive medical and health consultation and services.
At work, with enthusiasm and patience, we give full play to our professional expertise and actively provide comprehensive and meticulous medical consultation and services to local patients every day.
Picture 1: Professor Yang Qingping of HENU presented souvenirs to Ndola Teaching Hospital in Zambia
Picture 2: Professor Yang Qingping of HENU visited and investigated with the companion of the leaders of Livingston Central Hospital
Professor Yang Qingping is Dean of the English Department of HENU, member of the Communist Party of China, and master's tutor with doctorate degree. He served as a full-time interpreter for the 22nd batch of Chinese medical aid team to Zambia and concurrently as the team leader of HENU team. Professor Yang Qingping has been given Outstanding Communist Party Member, My Favorite Teacher and other honors many times. He is conscientious in his work and has the courage to take on his role, which is highly praised by the teachers and students of HENU.
Picture 1: Deputy Chief Physician Guo Guoxiao was performing an operation on a patient with retroperitoneal tumor
Picture 2: Deputy Chief Physician Guo Guoxiao lead local hospital doctors in ward rounds
The Deputy Chief Physician of Guo Guoxiao works in the Department of General Surgery of Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital (LMUTH) in Lusaka, the capital. The surgery here is very busy, and there are also many patients in surgical clinics and wards. The picture 1 shows Director Guo performs an operation on a patient with retroperitoneal tumor. This operation is definitely a relatively difficult, even in China. The operation has very high risk, and is a big test to the level and skill of the surgeon. With his superb technology and medical level, Director Guo successfully removed the huge retroperitoneal tumor for the patient. Director Guo is very busy every day, often unable to leave work on time, and sometimes go to the hospital in the middle of the night for emergency operations. Because the local hospitals have limited general surgery capabilities and they cannot perform complex major operations alone, they need the advice and guidance of Director Guo. As soon as Director Guo has the opportunity and time, he uses his less-standard English to explain the basic knowledge and clinical skills of general surgery to students and young local doctors. Many students and surgeons like to communicate with him. Director Guo also often shares the domestic advanced technology and rich clinical experience with local surgeons. The patients and surgeons are all moved by his spirit of selfless dedication. His broad clinical thinking has also inspired local surgeons, and points out the direction of efforts for local doctors in the future. The Deputy Chief Physician Guo Guoxiao has been highly praised by the Department of General Surgery and all surgeons.
Picture 1: Dr. Yu Qing was explaining and analyzing CT films in the Department of Imaging
Picture 2: Dr. Yu Qing and the director of the Department of Otolaryngology were together diagnosing difficult cases
Dr. Qing Yu works at Livingston Central Hospital. Livingston, a beautiful but remote city, is located in the southernmost part of Zambia. This city is as shabby as the town in China in the 1980s and 1990s. The working conditions here are very difficult and life is very inconvenient. But, Dr. Yu Qing has overcome all difficulties. Although the hospital has a CT machine, the Department of Imaging does not have a physician, only a technician, so the hospital attaches great importance to and relies on Dr. Qing. The only CT machine in the hospital has been broken for a long time. When we arrived at the hospital, the machine had just been repaired, so there are a lot of patients. Dr. Yu Qing often works overtime to help the department explain, analyze and teach them how to read the film and write a diagnosis report. He is very busy, and often does not take lunch until 2pm or 3pm in the afternoon. Sometimes when he returned to the dormitory for lunch after getting off work, he was asked by the director of the Department of Imaging to go back to the department for overtime consultation. Dr. Yu Qing received the absolute trust and praise of the director of the department. Picture 2 shows that Dr. Yu Qing and the Director of the Department of Otolaryngology at Livingston Central Hospital diagnose difficult cases together, clarify the scope of lesion invasions, and provide guidance for the next surgery. He was highly praised by colleagues in relevant departments of the hospital.
Dr. Wang Guanghui was examining local patients
Dr. Wang Guanghui also works at Livingston Central Hospital. Otolaryngologists are also the most lacking doctors in the hospital as there are only two otolaryngologists in the hospital and the director of the department is still studying in other hospitals. Therefore, all patients at the Department of Otolaryngology basically rely on Dr. Wang Guanghui. He has heavy task and high pressure. He has to diagnose more than 20 patients in the outpatient clinic every day. He almost never gets off work normally at noon. He often takes lunch after 2 pm in the afternoon. If there is an operation, he is so busy that he takes lunch after 3 pm in the afternoon. Since the otolaryngology clinic does not have appropriate equipment for patient examination, Dr. Wang Guanghui uses the visual examination equipment he carries from China to do more detailed and comprehensive examinations for patients.
Dr. Yan Zeng was instructing the anesthesiologist in the hospital to anaesthetize a 5-day-old baby
Dr. Yan Zeng also works at Livingston Central Hospital. The picture shows a five-day-old baby with Hirschsprung's disease. This baby is also one of the youngest patients in the history of surgery at Livingston Central Hospital, so the hospital as well as the director of the Department of Anesthesiology paid more attention to it. Dr. Yan Zeng and the director of the Department of Anesthesiology of the hospital jointly discussed the anesthesia plan, and Dr. Yan Zeng conducted the anesthesia of the patient. Due to the age of the baby, the risk of anesthesia is very high. Dr. Yan Zeng carefully analyzed the basic conditions and laboratory examinations of the baby, and performed precise anesthesia. During the anesthesia, Dr. Yan Zeng patiently and meticulously explained the physiological characteristics of the baby and the important notes of anesthesia to the anesthesiologists and interns in the hospital. The language barrier did not affect the enthusiasm of the students to listen to the explanation, and Dr. Yan Zeng was welcomed by the interns and all anesthesiologists.
Dr. Han Hongliang was teaching tracheal intubation and pediatric central venipuncture at University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, the capital
Dr. Han Hongliang works at the UTH in Lusaka, the capital. The UTH hospital has a lot of operations. He is very busy every day, often unable to leave work on time, and of course he cannot take lunch on time. Whenever he has the opportunity and time, he uses his less-standard English to explain the basic knowledge of anesthesia and clinical anesthesia skills to the students. Many students and doctors in the Department of Anesthesiology like to communicate with him. UTH does not have opioids, but for severely invasive operations, the patient's postoperative pain must be considered. Therefore, Dr. Han Hongliang boldly tried the method of intraspinal anesthesia combined with general anesthesia to anaesthetize the patient. This combined anesthesia by Han Hongliang was also the first case in UTH, and also pointed out a bright way for local anesthesiologists to improve the anesthesia plan. It also gave the local anesthesiologists an inspiration and broadened their thinking. Recently, he completed a total hysterectomy under combined spinal anesthesia and general anesthesia. This anesthesia method reduced the patient's postoperative pain, improved the patient's postoperative comfort, and reduced the amount of other anesthetics during the operation. It reduced the incidence of side effects of anesthetics, shortened the patient’s hospital stay, and reduced the overall cost of the patient. Dr. Han Hongliang has received unanimous praise from the Department of Anesthesiology and all surgeons.
Picture 1: Dr. Yin Xiaoxiang was diagnosing CT films in the Department of Imaging
Picture 2: Yin Xiaoxiang was debugging machine to prepare for interventional surgery
Dr. Yin Xiaoxiang works in the Department of Imaging of UTH, and also works part-time in LMUTH. He not only diagnoses difficult CT and MRI cases, but also frequently consults patients and performs some interventional operations. Interventional operations require a large number of equipment, but there are few doctors and lack of equipment in Zambia. Dr. Yin Xiaoxiang uses some equipment brought from China to complete some difficult operations. He is very busy and goes back and forth between the two hospitals, and often works overtime. Even after returning to the station, he is asked to return to the department to work overtime for consultation and operations. These two hospitals are the best teaching hospitals in Zambia. He needs to carry out medical treatment as well as teaching. Dr. Yin Xiaoxiang is absolutely trusted and praised by the two hospitals.
Picture 1: Dr. Ren Chunfu was performing oral root canal treatment for a patient in LMUTH
Picture 2: Dr. Ren Chunfu was staying with local stomatologists
Dr. Ren Chunfu works in the Department of Stomatology of LMUTH. If you just look at the picture, can you tell which department the doctor is? Yes, he is a stomatologist. As a member of the medical aid team of the First Affiliated Hospital of HENU, Ren Chunfu overcomes the poor local medical conditions and shortage of medical equipment, and strives to relieve the pain of the local people and win the respect of the local doctors and the recognition of local patients.
Dr. Guo Ertao also works at LMUTH. The prevention and control measures of the COVID-19 epidemic here are very poor, and very different from those in China. In hospitals or other occasions, if there is no reminder from others, local residents may not even take the initiative to wear masks. Everyone knows that endoscopy and surgery will cause the spread of the COVID-19, and hospitals are high-risk occasions for the spread of various diseases. The hospital’s virus testing and other conditions are very poor. Many patients with respiratory symptoms come to the endoscopy room without nucleic acid test results. During work, the doctors may come into contact with a large number of COVID-19 patients. Therefore, in daily work, Dr. Guo Ertao must follow the highest level of protection, and wear protective clothing, isolation gowns, goggles, face screens, etc. throughout the whole process. At the end of the work every day, he is sweaty and exhausted.
Zambia's medical technology is relatively backward. There is only one endoscopy doctor in the entire hospital. He is also the executive vice president of this hospital, and is busy with daily administrative work. Before we arrived here, for more than half a year, the endoscopy center only worked on Wednesdays and Fridays, and there were very few patients who made appointments. After communicating with Dr. Nsokolo, Dr. Guo Ertao works alone every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. On Wednesdays and Fridays, Dr Nsokolo sometimes comes to help. The workload is very high every week, almost several times of workload than before. After Dr. Guo Ertao overcomes the language barrier, he quickly gains the trust of everyone in the endoscopy center with his proficient technique. In the original business, Dr. Guo Ertao tells Dr. Nsokolo where he is not detailed enough and where he needs improvement. According to the existing conditions, Dr. Guo Ertao helps the endoscopy center develop several new technologies, such as endoscopic cardia constriction, ERAT, and endoscopic internal hemorrhoid ligation. In terms of clinical teaching, after a local graduate student majored in digestion watched Dr Nsokolo's several surgeries, he expressed the intention to study endoscopy with Dr. Guo. After several teachings, Dr. Guo found that this graduate student lacked the theory of endoscopy, and had never studied books on this subject, so he used his evening time to look up a dictionary and translated a booklet of operation procedures for gastroscopy for him.
The nine members of Chinese medical aid team from HENU system quietly dedicate their professional knowledge and skills in ordinary jobs every day. They are dedicating their youth to Zambia's medical undertakings, and they are also making their contributions to the health consultation of the Zambian people.
As staffs of HENU system and members of the Chinese medical aid team to Zambia, the nine members absolutely guarantee to successfully complete the medical assistance tasks entrusted by the country. Their work is absolutely worthy of the trust from the motherland, from the people of Zambia, and from leaders and colleagues of HENU and its affiliated hospitals.