DM Monitoring
NAIROBI: More than two months have passed, but Chinese doctor Zhao Mengwen still felt exhilarated when recollecting how a nine-month-old Sierra Leonean infant infected with COVID-19 was saved.
“The nine-month-old baby, Ola, was one of three orphans who suffered from different levels of congenital malformation and malnutrition, and had developed severe COVID-19 symptoms before they were transferred to the hospital,” said Zhao, a doctor of the Chinese medical team based in the China-Sierra Leone Friendship Hospital, one of the specialized hospitals to receive COVID-19 patients in the West African country.
“Their conditions were rather critical. All of them coughed continuously and struggled to breathe, and the nine-month-old infant also had two bedsores on his head,” said Zhao, adding that doctors concluded that the three severe cases required combined therapies and intensive care following a joint consultation.
“We intensified the anti-infection treatment and enhanced nutritional support to their bodies step by step in the meantime. Their diseases were in remission gradually,” said Zhao, adding that the patients fully recovered weeks later on May 29. “All of the medical staff were exhilarated to see the kids discharged from the hospital, and we also gathered to donate some food and medical supplies to help them get through these trying times,” Zhao added. When the first COVID-19 case was confirmed on the African continent on Feb. 14, China, despite being ravaged by the virus then, rushed to help its African brothers by unreservedly providing medical supplies, sharing experience, as well as sending expert teams.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, China sent a total of 148 medical workers to 11 African countries as of June 2, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian.
Furthermore, 46 Chinese medical teams already stationed on site are also mobilized to help African nations contain the pandemic, and nearly 1,000 Chinese medical personnel have been working in Africa for a long time, according to China’s National Health Commission.
Since March, massive medical supplies donated by the Chinese government, companies and individuals have also been distributed to about 50 African countries and regions. The timely donations, including face masks, disposable protective clothing, forehead thermometers as well as other equipment, have helped alleviate the continent’s shortage of medical supplies in the face of the epidemic. The Chinese government has provided Guinea with anti-epidemic supplies several times since Guinea reported the first COVID-19 case on March 13, said Bouna Yattassaye, deputy director of the National Health and Security Agency of Guinea. In addition, the Chinese medical team in Guinea helped the African country hold multiple video conferences, according to Yattassaye. Guinea medical experts and Chinese anti-epidemic experts had in-depth exchanges, providing important reference information for Guinea to formulate its epidemic prevention strategies.
Meanwhile, Chinese companies and individuals are also making their own contributions. For example, Jack Ma, Chinese tech entrepreneur and philanthropist, has donated three batches of medical supplies to 54 African countries via the Jack Ma and Alibaba foundations.
According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across Africa rose to 1,108,837 as of Sunday, while the death toll climbed to 25,337, with a relatively low mortality rate of 2.3 percent.
