At least 20 million Tanzanians have benefited from expert medical services from Chinese specialist doctors who have been running various medical camps in the country for almost 60 years now.
The China Ambassador to Tanzania, Ms Chen Mingjian said this during the launch of a camp for specialist doctors in Kigoma North Constituency in Kigoma Region, where 11 specialist doctors from China will provide consultation and surgery services to the people of the area for five days
Ambassador Chen said that the doctor camps are part of the bilateral relationship established by the founders of the two nations, where in 1964 and 1968, China started dispatching medical teams to Zanzibar and Tanzania Mainland respectively.
“Up to now, 20 million Tanzanian patients have been treated by the Chinese doctors through 26 trips for Tanzania Mainland and 32 trips for Zanzibar,” she said.
She said that the holding of the camp in Kigoma North Constituency was based on the request by the area Member of Parliament, Mr Assa Makanika, but it is also based on the challenge that they saw for the need of the people for the services of specialist doctors.
Speaking at the launch, Mr Makanika said that the arrival of the doctors is due to the high demand for specialist services due to the large number of people in the constituency who are unable to afford the cost of specialist services.
Mr Makanika said that despite the great work done by the government in strengthening and improving health services in the region, the services of specialist doctors have become a big challenge due to the absence of a sufficient number of specialist doctors in the region.
The arrival of the 11 Chinese doctors will enable at least 1,500 citizens to get various services, including surgical services, medicine and other medical equipment free of charge at Bitale and Simbo centres from October 15 to 20 this year.
The Regional Medical Officer of Kigoma Region, Dr Jesca Leba who represented the Kigoma Regional Commissioner, Thobias Andengenye at the launch said that Kigoma Region is facing a 60 per cent shortage of health care providers and medical equipment, and access to the services of specialist doctors is a challenge in the region.
Source: Daily News
