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China’s medical aid in past 60 years demonstrates borderless compassion
By Gong Wenjing
This year marks the 60th anniversary of China dispatching its first medical aid team abroad.
China has offered diagnoses and treatments for overseas patients 290 million of times since 1963 when the country sent its first overseas medical support team to Algeria.
In the past nearly 60 years, the country has sent a total of 30,000 medical workers to 76 countries and regions around the globe, saving countless lives throughout the world.
Leaving the residence at 7:30 a.m. and arriving at the hospital half an hour later, where benches along the two sides of the hall are fully packed by patients waiting to see doctors – this is the daily routine of Yang Yi, a member of the 27th Chinese medical aid team to Algeria.
Chinese doctors of the team are always fully occupied by their work and don’t even have the time to drink or go to the bathroom.
Yang is the chief physician of the rehabilitation medicine department of Shiyan Renmin Hospital in central China’s Hubei province, who went to Africa in August 2021.
She has gained a batch of “loyal fans” there thanks to her rich experience in acupuncture gained in the past three decades.
Last June, Yang received a patient surnamed Appomata who suffered from myelitis and quadriplegia. The patient was depressed and believed she would spend the rest of her life in bed. However, after two months of acupuncture therapy, she stood up again.
Acupuncture was brought to Africa by Chinese doctors when the first Chinese medical aid team arrived in Algeria 60 years ago, where this component of traditional Chinese medicine is considered “magic” by local people.
Today, Yang not only is alleviating the pain of patients with acupuncture but also has accepted two “apprentices” in Algeria.
“Acupuncture can take root here even after Chinese doctors are gone,” she said.
Guo Wei is the chief physician of the emergency department of Beijing Tiantan Hospital. He went to Guinea in 2022 with the 29th medical aid team to the country.
According to him, he and other members of the team faced a series of challenges in the African country, such as the scorching heat, infectious diseases, and frequent electricity blackouts.
Once, a colleague of Guo in Guinea occasionally found a laparoscope in the hospital where they worked. It had been idle for years though it was one of the most frequently used devices in the general surgery department. Later, Guo learned that it was idle because no local doctor was able to use it.
Therefore, Guo contacted the Chinese manufacturer of the laparoscope and asked it to send relevant medical consumables. The Chinese medical aid team later instructed Guinean doctors to use the device.
So far, under the guidance of Chinese doctors, local doctors in the hospital have performed multiple laparoscopies.
Zhou Zhuo, former head nurse of the operating room, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, always thought of the socks that her mother made for her before she went to aid Africa.
In 2008, Zhou signed up for the 21st medical aid team to Guinea.
Zhou’s mother, who was also a medical worker, joined a medical team for the China-aided Tanzania-Zambia Railway project in the 1970s. Though she was supportive for Zhou’s decision to join the medical aid team, she was quite worried about it because of the mosquitoes and infectious diseases in Africa. Before Zhou’s departure, the mother specifically made several pairs of socks that were able to prevent mosquito bites.
In Guinea, Zhou and her colleagues cleaned and sterilized idle warehouses and turned them into clinics and operating rooms, where large numbers of local patients later received treatment.
In May 2018, China resumed diplomatic ties with Burkina Faso in West Africa and planned to restart sending medical teams there.
Zhou was 55 that year and her parents were aged. However, as a medical worker who had foreign-aid experiences and could speak French, she signed up again for the medical aid mission. She set foot on the West African country at about the same time with the staff of the Chinese Embassy in Burkina Faso.
After arriving, the Chinese medical team spent some 20 days renovating houses, sorting medical materials, and doing other work related to camp construction.
During the team’s half-year stay in Burkina Faso, it performed 138 surgeries for local cataract patients together with experts of the Brightness Action program, a Chinese aid program.
When the team went to local villages to give a free clinic, all team members were surrounded by patients. Zhou told People’s Daily that she still remembers that many local patients would say “China is great” when posing for pictures with Chinese doctors.
Last year, Beijing Shijitan Hospital was assigned with another medical aid task. “I’d still sign up if I was not retired,” Zhou said.
By Fabian Apechihin
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned that petrol prices could rise to ₦5,000 per litre under President Bola Tinubu’s administration if the government fails to address concerns surrounding oil revenues and public spending.
Atiku raised the alarm through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, following the latest petrol price increase.
He questioned why Nigerians were paying as much as ₦1,470 per litre when crude oil was trading at approximately $102.52 per barrel.
“With crude oil around $102.52 per barrel, Nigerians are paying as much as N1,470 per litre. In 2008, when crude oil reached about $147 per barrel, petrol sold at N65 per litre under the Yar’Adua administration,” Atiku said.
The former vice president called for a reconciliation of oil revenues and deductions from 2023 to date, arguing that Nigerians should be able to establish how much revenue was generated, what deductions were made before distribution and where the funds eventually went.
“Nigerians deserve accounts they can interrogate, not accounting labels designed to discourage questions,” he said.
Atiku also questioned the use of funds saved following the removal of the petrol subsidy, recalling the government’s earlier assurances that the savings would create room for increased investment in education, healthcare and infrastructure.
“After all the pain imposed on Nigerians, they have a right to ask: where are the subsidy savings and where is the money?” he asked.
He further called for scrutiny of financial transactions involving the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, OML 143, oil production revenues and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s international liquefied natural gas trading operations.
“These allegations are too serious to be answered with press statements and political insults. Every barrel can be measured, every cargo identified and every legitimate payment traced,” Atiku said.
The former vice president’s remarks come amid continuing public debate over petrol pricing, oil revenue management and the economic impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday hosted the former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, in Abuja, in a meeting that has attracted attention amid growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Neither Atiku nor Aisha publicly disclosed details of their discussions or indicated whether the meeting centred on political matters.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of renewed interest in the Buhari family’s political influence, particularly in Katsina State.
In May, Yusuf Buhari, son of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, won the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary for the Sandamu/Daura/Mai’adua Federal Constituency seat in Katsina State. He secured 6,386 votes, defeating Auwal Daura, who polled 322 votes.
The outcome generated considerable interest within political circles in the Daura axis, where the Buhari family has maintained a strong political presence.
Aisha Buhari has also remained active in promoting the legacy of her late husband, who died in London on July 13, 2025.
In July, she described education and human capital development as among Muhammadu Buhari’s most important legacies while speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for a Computer Science Complex at Al-Qalam University, Katsina.
The project is being financed with proceeds from the book From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, which chronicles the former president’s life and public service.
Aisha said the initiative was aimed at preserving Buhari’s legacy through investment in education, knowledge and innovation rather than through the construction of monuments.
Although the purpose and outcome of Wednesday’s meeting between Atiku and Aisha were not publicly disclosed, the encounter has drawn attention as political actors and groups continue to position themselves ahead of the 2027 elections.
- As Gov AbdulRazaq Is Turbaned As Sadauna Of Ilorin Emirate
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
Vice President Kashim Shettima has stressed the need for politicians to embrace one another, play politics without bitterness and according to the rules in order to ensure an astronomical growth and development for the country.
Shettima made the appeal on Wednesday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the turbaning of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate by the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, while admonishing
Nigerians to serve with humility, do good to one another and have forgiving spirit, as they, according to him, would spend more time after office.
He added: “Power is given by God to the people He so wishes and not because we are better than others. I, therefore, call on all politicians to unite themselves as one family despite their political differences.
“Take a cue from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that I serve as his assistant. He is a good and decent man who has the love and interest of Nigerians at heart.”
Shettima explained that when they assumed office in 2023, the economy of the country was at the brink of collapse, but President Tinubu refused to pass blame; with courage he accepted both the assets and liabilities and moved on.
He further disclosed that during the 2023 electioneering campaign, only six out of the 19 northern governors supported Tinubu’s presidential aspiration, based on the erroneous belief that Baba (Buhari) didn’t like him, adding: “But today the President has embraced everybody as his own and things are going on well”.
He added: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a good man by all standard; he believes in the people that work with him.”
Shettima also thanked the Emir of Ilorin for the honour done to Governor AbdulRazaq, which , he noted, was based on his contributions to the development of the Ilorin Emirate and the State at large, adding that “the father of the Governor had planted a solid footprint in the Ilorin Emirate and by extension Nigeria as a whole”.
Shettima, who expressed optimism that this new chapter would create a stronger bond between the Emirate and the family of Governor AbdulRazaq, urged the people to continue to pray for the progress and development of the Emirate and the State as a whole.
He commended Governor AbdulRazaq for his efforts in the massive improvement on infrastructure to assist the people of the State, as well as for his
contributions to the actualisation of policies and programmes of government at the federal level towards providing succour to average Nigerians.
In his remarks, the Matawaliof Ilorin Emirate, Dr.Alimi AbdulRazaq, said the title of Sardauna bestowed on the Governor was well deserved, thanking the Emir of Ilorin for finding the Governor worthy of the noble recognition by the Emirate.
Dr,Alimi urged the Governor to see the tittle as a clarion call to provide more dividends of democracy to the nooks and crannies of the State.
The turbaning ceremony witnessed large turnout of dignitaries, including the Governor of Niger state, Umar Bago, Governor of Kaduna state, Senator Uba Sani, Governor of Imo State ,Hope Uzodinma, and Governors of Kebbi ,Katsina States.
Others are the Emir of Zazzau Emirate, Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamali, the Deputy Governors of Sokoto, Anambra, Nasarawa, Delta, Ondo, and Oyo States.
Fuel Price May Hit ₦5,000 Per Litre Under Tinubu — Atiku Warns
2027: Atiku Hosts Aisha Buhari in Abuja Amid Political Realignment
2027: VP Shettima Urges Politicians To Play Politics without Bitterness
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