Liapeng Raliengoane
LESOTHO, Maseru – In an effort to magnify the work done by medical practitioners, the embassy of the People’s Republic of China Lesotho honoured Chinese medical doctors deployed in Lesotho in an intimate ceremony in Maseru on Thursday.
The event was meant to welcome the 18th team of medical doctors who will be working at the newly built Maseru District Hospital. And bid farewell to the 17th team of medical doctors who were deployed at Motebang Hospital and arrived in Lesotho in March last year.
According to the agreement between the Chinese Government and the Government of Lesotho, China has been sending medical teams to Lesotho since 1997 and there have been 18 batches of Chinese Medical Teams.
The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Lesotho His Excellency Lei Kezhong highlighted that over 180 doctors from China’s Hubei Province have come to Lesotho to provide medical and health care services to Basotho.
“The 17th team has been working very hard, faithfully carrying out their duties in Lesotho, providing medical services as needed and conducting countryside health services in the mountainous villages as well. They have set up a new record by performing 13 surgeries in one day,” H.E Kezhong said.
He added, “To the 18th Medical Team, I want to extend a warm welcome, carry forward the traditions of the Chinese Medical Team of providing first-class medical services to Basotho.”
H.E Lei Kezhong further emphasized that the Maseru District Hospital and Eye Clinic is a gift from the Chinese Government and people to the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. That it is nearing completion and will be handed over to Lesotho soon.
On behalf of the outgoing medical team, Captain of the team, Dr. Jeff Wang expressed that they officially started working at Motebang Hospital in April 2023 and amongst many things, they launched new technologies.
“We successfully treated many critically ill and complex patients including a pregnant woman with post-partum haemorrhage using light from our mobile phones because there was power outage,” he made known.
From the government of Lesotho, the Minister of Health Hon. Selibe Mochoboroane expressed gratitude to the Chinese Government for the long-term support it has been offering to Lesotho.
“The report I got from the Director of Health services is that this outgoing team has done wonderfully well. It also worked tirelessly when we had a challenge of the local doctors who were on strike,” highlighted Mochoboroane.
To the incoming team the minister expressed hope that they would keep the graph of working well going higher.
This year marks 30 years since the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Lesotho.
