Essissima Foe Constantin Martial (COURTESY PHOTO)

China-Cameroon friendship has taken root in Cameroon. After the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 1971, China has brought huge investment to Cameroon not only for infrastructure but also for health facilities that are beneficial to common Cameroonian people.

As a young Cameroonian doctor and a postgraduate student at a Chinese medical university, I was inspired by my Chinese professor to share my experience and thoughts about how the initiative of building a global health community for all is benefiting Cameroon. As a matter of fact, there has been extensive health cooperation between these two friendly countries, and I am interested in what we can do to promote the initiative in Africa.

Investments constitute one of the particularly visible sectors of China-Cameroon cooperation and concern infrastructure as well as medical equipment. Immediately after establishing diplomatic relations with Cameroon, China built Guider and Mbalmayo hospitals. The Yaounde Gyneco-obstetrics and Pediatric Hospital was inaugurated in 2002 by the Cameroonian head of state in the presence of the Chinese ambassador and the Chinese Vice Minister of Health Ma Xiaowei. The Douala Gyneco-obstetrics and Pediatric Hospital was inaugurated in 2015. These two hospitals are among the most important medical institutes in the country. Moreover, the Chinese Government is encouraging the transfer of its doctors by negotiating their contracts in the agreements it signs with Cameroon in the field of health. A number of medical teams from China have been sent to Cameroon yearly since 1975.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely accepted in Cameroon. Many Chinese incentive policies for the extension of TCM in Cameroon have produced various effects and even given rise to several TCM companies. TCM is presented in Cameroon either through consultations in the hospitals, or through retail sales or private practice. Cameroonians have also been trained in TCM and become experts. They increasingly use acupuncture, provided mainly in private centers.

Chinese doctors share their expertise for the well-being of many Cameroonians. This is real support in a context where Cameroonian hospitals lack qualified personnel and equipment. Chinese medical missions quickly became famous and useful, for the effectiveness of their interventions and their affordability. There is also the transfer of Chinese technology and skills to Cameroonian medical staff.

All these health facilities and unrequited cooperation including vaccine have played an important role in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon.

Chinese pragmatism and market logic have facilitated the implementation of a comprehensive strategy for development. Chinese medical activities in Cameroon therefore constitute one aspect of Chinese involvement in Africa. The Chinese medical achievements and excellent medical team performance have contributed to Chinese economic cooperation with Cameroon.

To promote global health community in Cameroon, we can intensify the continuous training of Cameroonian medical staff by Chinese experts, in order to make them completely autonomous. This can be done through scholarship for Cameroonian students in China, like scholarships offered by Gannan Medical University in Jiangxi Province with a pleasant study environment and an affiliated hospital built with advanced technology and qualified training staff. We can increase aid for the development of hospital infrastructure. This can be done through the construction of specialized care centers for patients. One example is the construction in Yaounde of a specialized center for endoscopic urological surgery, run by Cameroonian doctors trained in China. We can also open local production subsidiaries of Chinese medical equipment, intended for sale, and supply Sino-Cameroonian hospitals built in Cameroon or built in the central Africa sub-region. The enhancement of mutual learning of cultures is also fundamental in view of an even brighter cooperation and a close people-to-people bond.

We do believe that with China's initiative of building a global health community for all, we can and we should join hands and contribute to this goal.

(Print Edition Title: Health For All) 

Essissima Foe Constantin Martial is Cameroonian and a postgraduate medical student at Gannan Medical University

Zhong Fuyou also contributed to this article