Ethiopia receives a healing touch

Opened in March 2012, Tirunesh Beijing General Hospital has been offering health services in internal medicine, surgery, HIV screening and others. [Photo/Xinhua]

Success and dedication

Over nearly 45 years of working in Ethiopian cities and towns, the Chinese medical teams have authored their stories of success and dedication.

Mei Gengnian, head of the first Chinese medical team to Ethiopia, died in 1975 in a car accident while he was serving local communities in Jimma town of Oromia regional state, 380 km south of Addis Ababa.

Buried near the spot where he died, his grave is being tended by a local family, and Mei's son has followed his father's footsteps by join-ing a medical mission to Ethiopia.

Amid success and dedication, China-Ethiopia health cooperation is continuing to progress as both sides have learned valuable lessons from each other.

More and more Ethiopians are coming to TBGH Chinese Traditional Medicine Center established in July 2015 to receive acupuncture treatment.

Despite the language barrier and different medical practices, both Ethiopian and Chinese doctors agree that they've learned a lot from each other.

Wang says she has learned how to have a better doctor-patient relationship and encourage better preventive health measures during her stay in Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, she urges Ethiopian doctors to learn from the Chinese doctors' experiences and be courageous enough to learn new skills and knowledge to improve their treatment of patients.