By Senior Editor, China Africa News
Palapye, Botswana- A 17th batch of the Chinese medical team in Botswana carried out a free outreach at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) in Palapye, offering medical consultations, examinations, acupuncture and massage to around 120 people.
The outreach was led by the Chinese team’s Francistown branch. The vice-chancellor of BIUST, Otlogetswe Totolo, welcomed the initiative, saying it brought professional and compassionate healthcare directly to local communities and reflected the strong health partnership between Botswana and China.
This outreach is part of a long-standing health cooperation framework between Botswana and China: since 1981, China has dispatched 17 batches of doctors and nurses to work in local hospitals in Botswana, with over 500 medical personnel involved, and more than three million patients having received diagnosis and treatment from them.
Elsewhere in Botswana, the Chinese medical team has also conducted outreach in rural or semi-urban communities (for example at the SOS Children’s Village Botswana in Tlokweng) providing consultation, hygiene education and donations.
In practical terms, this ongoing cooperation presents improved access to health services in regions beyond major urban centres, enhanced expertise from visiting specialists and better support for local health staff all aligning with Botswana’s ambition to raise its health service delivery standards and address specialist-care shortages
