A medical expert team has spent two years with capacity building at a grassroots hospital in southwest China's Guizhou Province and wish to bring up expertise that will not leave the local people.
The team, led by Fu Xiaoyun, vice president of the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University and director of the hospital's Department of Critical Care Medicine, went down to the People's Hospital of Sandu Shui Autonomous County in June 2022.
Sandu is China's only autonomous county of ethnic Shui, and although the county hospital is the largest locally, it was limited in space and short of equipment and was able to conduct very few medical tests at the time when the expert team first came. Only 26 percent of the hospital's medical staff held mid-level or above professional titles.
"I felt the weight of my responsibility when I first came. As a member of the Communist Party, I think I'm obliged to shoulder the duty. All experts in the first and second groups of the team are Communist Party members," Fu said.
In the two years during the assistance, Fu and his colleagues helped the hospital establish a department of critical care medicine. He was more than willing to pass on his expertise to local medical workers.
Li Junxia, a local doctor, has filled her notebook with what she learned from Fu in the past two years.
"I would write down things new and important to me during rounds, such as when to wean a patient from the ventilator, and postoperative nutrition management. There's so much. For things I could not comprehend, I would review them when I'm back home," Li said.
With the help of Fu's team, the pediatricians in the hospital have all learned how to perform invasive ventilation on newborn infants, the radiology department is now able to provide magnetic resonance imaging services, and an oncology department has been established, freeing local patients from long and expensive travels to major cities for chemotherapies.
"A good doctor must be sympathetic and full of love, which means they dare to sacrifice and pay off. By doing so, I have stayed true to the original aspiration and mission of Communist Party members," Fu said.
Guizhou medical experts help capacity-building at grassroots hospital
Permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations (UN) Danny Danon on Thursday denied that any discussions had occurred between Israel and the UN regarding delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Danon made these remarks at the UN headquarters in response to a query from a China Central Television (CCTV) reporter about the ongoing failure to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israel blocked the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, following the end of the first phase of a January ceasefire deal with Hamas. It resumed attacks on Gaza on March 18.
With no food, no supplies, and no relief in sight, Gazans have been enduring a relentless fight for survival.
In response to mounting international condemnation, Israel has proposed that its military take over the distribution of aid - a move widely criticized by the international community.
Briefing a Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher noted that the UN has met for over 12 times with the Israeli authorities regarding the latter's proposed aid distribution model, yet no solution had been found.
Danon, however, stated that no discussions have taken place in recent weeks regarding the issue.
"I don't know about that. Actually I listened to Mr. Fletcher's remarks at the Security Council the other day, and I can tell you that he visited Israel but he had no discussion about that fund because it was way back and in the last few weeks there was no dialogue about that. I would expect UN officials to engage when they want to speak about issues they know how to reach us, they know how to reach the U.S. mission. We are here to engage," he said.
"They got some information from the media, I assume. But I think they should look into that and to realize that if they want to be involved, that is the way to be involved," he added, reiterating that the UN has not reached out.
In response to Danon's denial, the United Nations reaffirmed its position, standing by the public statement released by Fletcher.
"I heard what he said, and we stand by what Mr. Fletcher has said," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary-General noted later on the day, commenting on Danon's statement.
"Mr. Fletcher gave the details," he continued.
Israel envoy denies discussions with UN on enabling Gaza aid deliveries
