On the morning of March 28, the Reproductive and Health Department of the Ministry of Health of Sierra Leone held a graduation ceremony and certificate presentation ceremony for neonatal nursing training. The 26th Chinese medical team for Sierra Leone was invited to participate in the event. Liu Longfei, leader of the medical team, and Liu Xue and Zhou Lihuan, members of the nursing team, represented the medical team. The invitation fully reflects the Serbian side’s recognition of the professional capabilities of the Chinese medical team and its positive role in improving the health of local women and children.
According to the latest literature, neonatal mortality in Sierra Leone is much higher than the global average. This critical situation is mainly due to a lack of medical resources, a shortage of professionals and a weak primary health system. The neonatal specialist Nursing training program aims to improve the neonatal emergency and care capacity of midwives and paediatric nurses in the country, with the goal of significantly reducing neonatal mortality in the next five years. In recent years, the Chinese medical team, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other organizations have helped improve newborn treatment capacity by donating equipment and training personnel. For example, the China-Serbia Friendship Hospital has conducted neonatal resuscitation training in recent years, covering hundreds of local medical staff.
Since their arrival, the 26th medical team has quickly integrated into the local medical system and actively sought cooperation opportunities. During the conference, the medical team had in-depth exchanges with officials of the Ministry of Health of Sierra Leone, representatives of medical institutions and representatives of international organizations, hoping to make new friends and build a new platform for closer and more effective medical cooperation between China and Sierra Leone.
Captain Liu Longfei said: “In the future, we will continue to seek opportunities for teaching cooperation, through technical support and personnel training, to help Serbia train more professional medical talents, truly leave a ‘medical team that cannot be taken away’, and contribute to the health cause of Sierra Leone.”
Correspondent: Zhou Lihuan, Liu Xue Hong Yuan
