China's experiences vital for strengthening health systems in Africa

By Gong Yingchun
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, August 19, 2018
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Ren Minghui, WHO assistant director-general for communicable disease, speaks with China.org.cn during the High-Level Meeting on China-Africa Health Cooperation in Beijing on August 17. [Photo by Gong Yingchun/China.org.cn]

China's extensive experiences in strengthening its health system and primary health care are critical for African countries. They can learn from China, working to establish health systems based on their own needs, an official with the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday.

China's experiences are relevant to African countries as they both "have similar diversity of geography, culture, and population," said Ren Minghui, WHO assistant director-general for communicable disease.

Ren made the remarks in an exclusive interview with China.org.cn during the High-Level Meeting on China-Africa Health Cooperation in Beijing on August. 17.

"China has grown up with the same economic situation [of African countries] and its health system has grown stronger over the past few decades. China is now ready to share its experiences with other countries," he said.

"China can share a lot rather than just the technical and clinical services provided by Chinese doctors," Ren said, adding that the health cooperation between China and African countries has become more systematic and comprehensive in recent years.

"We saw a kind of shift [of China's support] last year, which included building hospitals and supporting African countries to establish effective and efficient health systems," Director for Program Management at the WHO Regional Office for Africa Joseph Waogodo Cabore told China.org.cn.

"China is not just providing support, but also sustaining that support by building capacity and helping countries build health systems," Cabore said.

China has sent approximately 21,000 medical workers to 48 African countries since 1963, and some 200 million African people have benefited from the medical services of Chinese medical teams in Africa.

Over the past five decades, China's assistance to Africa in the area of public health has grown at an enormous rate, including sending medical teams to provide all-round support, building medical institutions, providing medicine and medical devices, organizing training sessions, and offering scholarships to assist Africa's health infrastructure building, capacity building and talent training.

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