WORLDWIDE HEALTHCARE: Medecins Sans Frontieres has sent doctors around the world since 1971 (COURTESY PHOTO)

Dr. An Na has just returned to Beijing from a medical assistance program in Pakistan, and her warm smile and passion are infectious at first sight. An, a Chinese gynecologist, began working with her program, which is affiliated with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF – also called Doctors Without Borders) in Sierra Leone in 2011. But she is not the only Chinese physician working with the international medical and humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO). In recent years, an increasing number of Chinese doctors have partnered with MSF to provide medical aid to the world's most in need.

Getting involved with MSF

Founded in France in 1971, MSF is an international NGO composed of doctors and medical professionals. Its Hong Kong office was set up in 1994, but according to Wei Baozhu, MSF's Communications Officer, it took until 2005 for more doctors like An on the Chinese mainland to gradually join the organization.

There are comparatively fewer doctors from the mainland than from Hong Kong in MSF. Reasons for this have to do with not only language, but also awareness, says Wei. "MSF is not known to many on the Chinese mainland, and even those who want to provide humanitarian assistance may not know of this platform," explains Wei.

Language is a huge obstacle. Rescue personnel with MSF must be fluent in English or French. "Doctors from Hong Kong are good enough in English to work abroad," says Wei. "But doctors from the Chinese mainland, although proficient medically, are unable to work overseas due to their [lack of] English."

Still, Wei says, "things are changing for the better in recent years. Many young people are beginning to join us." An and Zhou Jifang, another physician, are two examples of new Chinese face of MSF.

An sent her resume to MSF in the summer of 2010. After several interviews, she found herself a member of the organization, "I was extremely happy when I received the notice, as my long-cherished dream had finally come true," the gynecologist recalls. She was soon sent to Sierra Leone for six months in March 2011 to help expectant mothers and newborn babies.

Like An, Zhou is also a young Chinese physician born in the 1980s. He spent seven years in medical school and then worked for four years before joining MSF. With good skills and fluency in French, he passed his interview and joined MSF's rescue team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last August.