Chinese medical team brings relief to South Sudan's ailing population

A Chinese doctor examines a child in Yapa village of Lobonok town, Central Equatoria State, South Sudan, Dec. 2, 2024. [Xinhua]

The 12th batch of the Chinese medical team has treated hundreds of sick people in Lobonok Payam (the second lowest administrative division below counties), located 38 km from the South Sudanese capital of Juba. This marks the second visit of the Chinese doctors after the last visit of the 11th batch, which left earlier this year.

Darius Ladu, a 20-year-old student at Yapa National Secondary School, was among the patients who benefited from free medical services during a medical camp organized in Yapa Village on Monday. 

"I have had persistent stomach and joint pain for the past two weeks, and I could not get proper treatment at the only primary health care center we have because the medicine had run out," Ladu told Xinhua. 

Ladu was diagnosed with malaria after undergoing tests that provided immediate results. He thanked the Chinese doctors for relieving him of the costly burden of treating the life-threatening disease that many families in Lobonok cannot afford due to high levels of poverty. 

He also disclosed that most of the malaria cases in the area are often referred to Juba when the only functioning primary health care center runs out of medicine, but many poor households cannot pay for such transfer.

Rose Juan, a mother of seven, expressed relief after receiving medicine from a Chinese gynaecologist. 

For two years, Juan had suffered from burning or painful urination due to urinary tract infections. The medical staff at the Lobonok Primary Health Care Center were unable to address her illness promptly due to drug shortages, yet the Chinese doctors brought Juan her much-needed medicines. 

Rose Juru, a 50-year-old farmer, said she had been experiencing severe pain in her joints and back for more than two years.

After being treated with traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, Juru felt less pain and expected to resume her work on the farm. 

Chinese doctors also referred some patients with critical conditions for further medical treatment at the main referral Juba Teaching Hospital, where they were based full-time. Among them was Agnes Keji Philip, showing up with her four-year-old daughter, who suffered from chronic otitis media, a recurring or long-term infection of the middle ear. 

Keji tried to treat her daughter with antibiotic drops and herbal medicine, but the condition did not improve. Chinese doctors recommended that she go to the Juba Teaching Hospital for specialized treatment.

Isaac Loki, medical director of the Lobonok Primary Health Care Center, thanked the Chinese medical team for treating the sick as well as donating medicine and food items to the health facility.

"I appreciate the efforts of the Chinese medical team to reach out to the marginalized and vulnerable people," Loki said. 

Du Changyong, leader of the 12th batch of the Chinese medical team, said the medical outreach in Lobonok is the second large-scale free medical consultation the Chinese medical team has conducted this year. 

Du said it deeply reflects the friendship and cooperation between China and South Sudan, and bears witness to the profound friendship between the two peoples.

"The Chinese medical team will continue to support the development of health care in South Sudan by providing high-quality medical assistance and personnel training." 

The Chinese government dispatched the first medical team to South Sudan in 2012. Over the past 12 years, Chinese doctors have made significant efforts and contributions to improving health conditions in the East African country.