China to send medical team to the DRC on peacekeeping mission
A 43-member Chinese medical team has been awaiting orders to set out to
the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) on a UN peacekeeping mission.
"We are ready to go," Ling Lei, the director of the team said. The team
will provide medical services to peacekeeping forces and other United Nation
staff in the DRC. They will also offer emergency aid to local people.
The team consists of experienced surgeons, physicians,
ophthalmologists, dentists, anesthetists, pharmaceutists, dosimetrists,
radiologists and nurses, in addition to drivers, cooks and communication
technicians. They are all employees in the 202nd PLA hospital in Shenyang,
capital of Liaoning Province. Among the 43 members, four are doctorate holders
and nine are masterate holders.
Wang Donghui, vice-director of the team, said: "As it is the first time
for us to provide medical services in a peace-keeping mission, we set a very
high standard for ourselves." Wang has just come back from the United States,
where he did his post-doctorate research.
Upon arrival in the DRC, they will provide medical services to 1,000
peacekeeping servicemen. According to the requirement of the United Nations,
they must have the capability to perform as many as four large-scale anesthetic
operations every day and to form two medical groups.
"They are versatile and are able to provide all services that an
independent hospital can," said Zhao Wei, director of the 202nd PLA hospital.
An inspection team of the United Nations said in its report that the
staff, equipment and medicine of the medical team had by far exceeded the
standards the United Nations had set and were able to offer any medical service
a peace-keeping mission needed.
Zhao said the 43 members were selected from hundreds of candidates and
received months of training in emergency aid, special treatment, preventive
medicine, field survival training, vehicle driving and foreign languages. They
speak English.
Equipment, medicine and living resources have been sent to the
destination. All members of the team have been inoculated.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, or Congo-Kinshasa, is a vast country of
dense forests traversed by the powerful Congo River. Rich in natural resources,
the country is nonetheless economically stunted due to decades of civil war.
Malaria, typhoid, pneumonia and AIDS are prevalent.
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