Ethiopia-China Cooperation In The Healthcare Sector

Posted on : Tuesday , 17th December 2019

The Ethiopian government welcomed the Chinese medical team for their healthcare services and medical appliance assistance to the Ethiopian people.

"The lifesaving involvement of China's medical support to Ethiopia, which lasts for more than four decades, is a successful appearance of the growing Ethiopia-China friendship," Yohannes Chala, Head of Addis Ababa Health Bureau, told Xinhua.

"The Ethiopian government appreciates the efforts extended by the government of China through its mission in Ethiopia to improve healthcare delivery across the country," Chala said.

Chala noted that healthcare provision as "a dynamic system," keeps changing by the major technological advancements in the field.

The Chinese government's assistance in the public health sector has "played paramount importance to the healthcare system to gear up to date with regard to knowledge and other required inputs," he said.

He congratulated all the consecutive Chinese medical teams for establishing the basis for traditional Chinese medical treatments in hospitals in Ethiopia as it gained much appreciation from the community for its healing ability."

He also insists the Chinese government as well as the current and upcoming Chinese medical professionals in the East African country for assistance spread the major techniques of traditional Chinese medical treatments in various other hospitals and healthcare institutions in the capital and beyond.

Chalaalso highlighted the Tirunesh Beijing Hospital in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa as "a prime appearance of the successful China-Ethiopia cooperation in the healthcare sector, also praised China "for its continued support for the transformation of the public health sector in Ethiopia."

The Tirunesh-Beijing Hospital, also known as the Ethio-China Friendship Hospital, located in Akaki neighborhood on the outskirts of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, presently hosts the 21st batch of the Chinese medical team, constituting 16 medical professionals who have specialized in various fields.

"The Ethiopia-China Friendship Hospital plays a vital role in the health needs of hundreds of thousands of Addis Ababa city habitat," Chala said, adding "many have come to this hospital looking for relief for their critical and chronic illness and have found relief from their pains and sufferings."

As part of the Chinese government's continued support to Ethiopia's public health sector, the 21st batch of the Chinese medical team donated much needed orthopedic equipment and pharmaceuticals worth 507,524 RMB to the Tirunesh-Beijing Hospital, which is considered as a model of the successful China-Ethiopia cooperation in the healthcare sector.

"Usually the Chinese government sends us a variety of equipment, but the current batch of donations is orthopedic equipment. We have Ethiopian doctors and orthopedic surgeons from the Chinese side, and these people come together and form a team and they use these equipment," Abas told Xinhua.

Liu Yu, Economic and Commercial Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, also lauded the successful Ethiopia-China ties in the public health sector to further deepen the people-to-people connectivity between the two countries.

"The healthcare cooperation between the two countries can lay a solid foundation for the good relations between the two countries, and that's why both Chinese and Ethiopian governments keep importance to cooperation in the public health sector," Liu added.