Roundup: Chinese doctors get admiration for free treatment in Cambodia

A group of doctors from east China's Jiangsu province has received deep admiration from Cambodian officials and common people for providing free treatment to patients here.

A group of ten Chinese doctors has been providing medical checkup and treatment to hundreds of patients in southwestern Cambodia's coastal Preah Sihanouk province from Dec. 10 to 16.

"This is a very valuable humanitarian task that will contribute to improving the well-being of Cambodian people," Yun Min, governor of Preah Sihanouk province, said while attending the starting ceremony of treatment.

Seng Nong, director of Preah Sihanouk Provincial Referral Hospital, said the hospital was very pleased to cooperate with Chinese medical team and hoped that China would organize more free treatment for Cambodian patients in the future.

"This humanitarian activity not only contributes to improving Cambodian people's health, but also provide an opportunity for Cambodian doctors to learn good experience from Chinese doctors," he said. "It will also contribute to deepening people-to-people relations between the two countries."

One of the patients said she came to see the Chinese doctors after her typhoid has relapsed.

"They attentively checked my health and gave me some medicines. I'm very happy to receive free medical checkup and treatment from Chinese doctors," Him Thy, 50, said.

"I hope that they will organize such free medical treatment more often for Cambodian patients in the future," she said.

Another patient said such humanitarian task was very helpful to poor patients in Cambodia.

"It is a good chance for Cambodian patients, especially poor ones, to have their health checked and treated by skillful Chinese doctors," Sum Somaly, 55, said.

Zhang Lei, vice governor of Jiangsu province, expressed his confidence that the medical service by Chinese doctors would help improve health for Cambodian people.

"It is the first time that Jiangsu's medical team provides medical checkup and treatment to Cambodian people and I hope that it will create good ties in health sector between the two provinces," he said.

Yang Zhi Jian, head of the Chinese medical team, said after meeting with Preah Sihanouk provincial health officials and some patients, he learned that the province was lack of doctors, medicines, medical materials, and equipment.

"Through this medical service, we hope that friendly relations between the peoples of the two countries will be further enhanced," he said.

With an aim of promoting cooperation in health between Jiangsu province and Preah Sihanouk province, on Dec. 8, Bian Hejuan, director of Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, and Lim Samean, director of Preah Sihanouk Provincial Health Department, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in tropical disease control and research.

Under the deal, a China-Cambodia Cooperation Center for Tropical Disease Control and Research would be established in Preah Sihanouk province to provide technical support for Cambodia on the control of tropical diseases such as malaria and schistosomiasis. Enditem