Chinese medical team in Equatorial Guinea

The Chinese government has sent 23 medical teams consisting of over 500 members to Equatorial Guinea since 1971, with over one million local people benefitting from the program.

Twenty-seven team members, all from Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, are currently working in Equatorial Guinea.

Angels in white as friendly messengers

The Guangdong government started to send medical teams to Equatorial Guinea in October 1971.

Hot weather, disease, lack of water and electricity, and communication inconvenience -- members face lots of difficulties, but remain.

Chinese medical teams have received warm welcomes and been widely praised by local government and people over the past 47 years. Known as the “model of South-South cooperation”, the Chinese angels in white are called friendly messengers.

In addition to active prevention and treatment of infectious or frequently-occurring diseases, medical teams have also introduced advanced clinical technology, such as cardiac surgery, tumor removal and minimally invasive treatment.

Chinese traditional medicine (TCM), including acupuncture and tuina, and the combination of TCM and western medicine, have also been applied to better serve China’s African friends.

A Guangdong doctor laid to rest in Africa

In March 1978, a Guangdong doctor died on Africa due to sudden cerebral hemorrhage at the end of his two years of foreign aid work.

His name was He Xianjie. He was an ophthalmologist of the 6th Guangdong medical team from Ya County People’s Hospital (formerly People’s Hospital of Sanya, Hainan province).

The news of the Chinese doctor’s death saddened Equatorial Guinea. Thousands of local people spontaneously came to pay their respects to him. Then-president Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong and his wife also attended the burial ceremony.

 “My son’s name is Xie Yuanfei!”

 In 2014, Ebola broke out in parts of West Africa. Twenty-seven members of the Chinese medical team stuck to their task, risking their own lives to treat the sick in West Africa.   

For this year's Mid-Autumn festival, the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province arranged for some families to talk with the medical team via phone.  

 “Honey, don’t worry, everything is fine at home.”

 “Our son’s name is Xie Yuanfei (Yuanfei means “aid to Africa” in Chinese). He was born one day before my husband went to Africa. How long he's been gone to help is how old our kid is. Now, our boy is two months old,”said Wang Liting, wife of team member Xie Xiaoming.