On March 15, the 21st China (Guangxi) medical team to Niger and the 13th to Comorin, made up of 46 doctors from 12 cities, embarked on an 18-month mission to provide medical assistance to two African countries.

Liang Yuesheng, a doctor from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, signed up for the mission in July 2018, one month before his wife was due to deliver a child. His family was initially surprised by his decision, but came around eventually. 

Liang has a strong grasp of cardiac intervention therapy that can treat patients with acute myocardial infarction. In China, only a small number of big hospitals have mastered the technology, which is in even shorter supply in Africa. As a family member of his teammate put it, these doctors are willing to go wherever there's a person in need. 

A farewell meeting is held as the 46 Guangxi doctors prepare to leave for Niger and Comorin. [Photo/Nanguo Moring Post]

Guangxi dispatched its first medical aid team to Niger in 1976 and to Comorin in 1994. A total of 749 medical workers have been sent to the two African countries over the past several decades.

From 2013 to 2018, Guangxi medical teams received more than 360,000 outpatients and emergency patients, and 60,000 inpatients. They performed over 50,000 operations and trained more than 4,600 medical workers in Niger and Comorin.