Devotion

Last year, China and Tanzania jointly celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first Chinese medical team coming to Tanzania. China now has two medical teams working in Tanzania. The teams are based respectively in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

Eye Center, which has been made possible by China Medical Team has treated countless local patients over the past two years since its establishment. [Maverick Chen / China.org.cn]

Deo M. Mtasiva, Chief Medical Officer of Tanzania's Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, said there have been over 20 Chinese medical teams working in the country, and all the teams have been marvelous. He said many Chinese doctors are working in highly deprived and remote areas like Tabora, Dodoma and Musoma, where conditions are extremely difficult due to severe water shortages.

"They are warm-hearted, dedicated, highly skilled and endlessly take time to help our people," said Mtasiva.

The most important contribution China has made to health care in Tanzania is the establishment of a cardiac surgery treatment and training center in Dar es Salaam, he said. The center, built by China as part of its medical assistance, is scheduled to open in September or October.

The center has three operating theaters, over a dozen cardiac intensive care units (ICUs) under 24-hour supervision, and 10 more regular wards. In addition to Chinese doctors, the center will gather the best doctors and nurses in Tanzania, most of whom have received medical training in China, India and Europe.

"Even in China, such a center is of top-class," Chen said.

Chen, who heads a 25-member medical team dispatched by China's Shandong Province, has been working in Tanzania for eight years. He had a good job in China at an immunobiology lab at a famous hospital in Jinan, capital of Shandong Province. Chen came to Tanzania in 2003 as a medical team member and has been chief of the team since 2009.

"When I came to Tanzania for the first time, I was scared of deadly infectious diseases, such as malaria, yellow fever and AIDS," he recalled. "But people here are nice, warm-hearted, and friendly to us. Plus, they are really in need of our help."

So Chen decided to stay in the country. For him, there is too much work to do. Chen said every member of his team has to overcome five barriers: livelihood, language, getting along with other team members, homesickness and tough working conditions. His job as a chief is taking care of all the members on his team.

"My parents have passed away, my wife is retired, and my kid went to college last year. Now I can devote all my time and energy to helping people here," said Chen. "Plus, I have accumulated practical experience and established good communication channels with Tanzanian health officials."