"Jointly building the 'the Belt and Road' has become popular in Maldives" Medical | Doctor | Maldives

Doctors from the Chinese medical expert group conduct examinations for patients in Maldives.

Photo by reporter Zhang Niansheng

Entering the Hurumale Hospital near the capital of Maldives, Male, a white small building stands out. In the hall, a golden plaque reads: Abdullah Abdul Hakim Ophthalmology Center, generously built by the government of the People's Republic of China, officially unveiled by Maldives President Ibrahim Mohammad Saleh on January 13, 2020.

Across the plaque stands a row of flip flops, on which are photos and introductions of members of the Chinese Medical Expert Group at the Ophthalmology Center. Since its establishment, the center has carried out surgeries for cataracts, vitreoretinal diseases, ocular surface diseases, and external eye diseases on the basis of daily outpatient services. It has provided good medical services to patients in the Maldives and surrounding countries, and actively trained medical staff to help improve the local medical level.

"I just believe in Chinese doctors"

As it approached 3pm, the number of patients in other departments of Hulumale Hospital gradually decreased. In front of the ophthalmic center nurse stand, two nurses are still busy recording information, and dozens of patients are waiting for diagnosis and treatment. Doctor Xiang Wu from Zhongshan Ophthalmology Center of Sun Yat sen University in China is receiving patients and occasionally gets up to go to another consultation room to drop eye drops and dilate the pupils for patients who need laser treatment.

"Many patients waited for a long time to see a doctor, and some even waited for several years before coming to China for a doctor. We hope to make every effort to receive patients, reduce their pain, and actively help local medical staff improve their abilities." As Xiang Wu spoke to reporters, he was called into another consultation room where local doctors were preparing to perform laser treatment on patients and needed his guidance.

In 2020, with the support of the National Health Commission of China and the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission, Professor Chen Weirong from Zhongshan Ophthalmology Center led a team of foreign medical experts to Maldives and brought a complete set of ophthalmic diagnosis and treatment equipment. Relying on Hulumale Hospital, they established China's first modern and standardized ophthalmology center with foreign assistance. In February of this year, Chen Weirong once again led the team to Maldives. After more than 10 days of intense preparation, the China Maldives Ophthalmology Center's assistance and cooperation project has officially launched, with Maldivian Vice President Faisal Nassim and other political figures attending.

"Three years ago, I had a cataract surgery on one eye for a patient. When I came back this year, the patient came over for another eye surgery. During these three years, the patient had been to other countries for treatment, but had not undergone surgery and was waiting for the Chinese doctor to come back," Chen Weirong told reporters.

At the hospital, the reporter met Hassan Adam, a 77 year old patient. Speaking of the medical skills of Chinese doctors, Adam immediately gave a thumbs up. "The three years of waiting have been worth it, and I believe in Chinese doctors. They have superb medical skills, a kind attitude, and are especially considerate of patients." Next to the display board of Dr. Chen Weirong's personal profile, Adam specially asked the reporter to take a "group photo" as a souvenir.

It is said that Chinese doctors have superb medical skills, and many residents from other islands have come to seek medical treatment. Some patients who originally planned to go abroad for treatment have also come to ophthalmic centers. Patient Rasima Musa is equally grateful to Chinese doctors. She works in design but is unable to work properly due to cataracts that make it difficult to distinguish colors. After undergoing surgery at the ophthalmology center, she was able to return to the workplace. Musa said, "I am very grateful to the Chinese doctors for giving me the opportunity to work again."

"Laying the foundation for the construction of Maldives' ophthalmology"

At present, the Chinese medical expert group has three medical staff members in the Maldives. They will work in the station for 6 months, in addition to carrying out daily work, they will also provide medical theory and clinical training to local medical staff. Afterwards, they will also invite Malaysian personnel to Zhongshan Ophthalmology Center for further studies. Chen Weirong said, "Our overall vision is to create an ophthalmic center that can't be taken away, and develop it into a regional ophthalmic diagnosis and treatment center based in the Maldives and radiating to the surrounding areas, further enhancing the friendship and relationship between the two peoples."

"During the weekly training classes, Chinese doctors provide detailed explanations based on various clinical cases. There was a lecture on the difference between pathological and physiological fly mosquito diseases, which left a deep impression on me. With the guidance and help of Chinese doctors and nurses, we gained a lot." Local nurse Nihula shared her gains with reporters and gave a case study of eye axis measurement.

Once, a local nurse performed preoperative ultrasound examination on a patient who was about to undergo cataract surgery and submitted the axial measurement data to Chinese doctor Chen Wan. Chen Wan saw that the test results showed a short axial length in both eyes, so she reviewed the patient. The review result differs by 1.4 millimeters from the previous measurement result. "The difference of 1.4 millimeters will seriously affect the postoperative visual recovery effect," Chen Wan explained. The main reason for the error is that the examiner improperly compressed the eyeball. So, she gave detailed guidance to nurses on how to make correct measurements and avoid errors.

On May 10th, Liu Yizhi, the director of Zhongshan Ophthalmology Center, led a team of cataract experts to open a series of courses on cataract phacoemulsification for ophthalmic medical staff in various islands of Maldives online. A total of 150 people participated in the training, and the response was enthusiastic. The largest public hospital in Maldives sends one ophthalmologist to the China Malaysia Ophthalmology Center every month for internships, led by a group of Chinese medical experts.

As a witness to the China Malaysia Ophthalmology Center project, Maldives Minister of Health, Maher, told our reporter that Chinese doctors not only bring advanced equipment to facilitate the treatment of diseases for local people, but also help train medical staff and improve local medical standards, "laying the foundation for the construction of Maldives ophthalmology.". Maher mentioned that Maldives receives approximately 1 million visitors from around the world every year. "Not only locals, but also foreigners come to the hospital for medical treatment. The ophthalmic center built with China's assistance is benefiting tourists from all over the world."

"Looking forward to more and better cooperation between Malaysia and China"

"The China Malaysia Ophthalmology Center Assistance and Cooperation Project is an important livelihood project for China and Malaysia to jointly build the" the Belt and Road ", which aims to promote China Malaysia traditional friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation and people to people connectivity." Wang Lixin, China's ambassador to Maldives, said that China's medical assistance to Malaysia focuses on "giving people a chance to fish", opening up a new model of cooperation between the two countries and bringing tangible benefits to the local people.

Maher strongly agrees with this. He said, "Maldives has relatively limited human resources, and working with China to improve the efficiency of the healthcare system through training is an excellent way. This type of training can also be extended to cooperation in higher education and other fields."

Since China and Malaysia jointly built the "the Belt and Road", many cooperation projects have taken root in Maldives, producing good economic and social effects. "The joint construction of the 'the Belt and Road' has facilitated many projects in Maldives, including bridges, airports and other infrastructure connectivity, and also provided opportunities for the private sector, promoting tourism and other development." Mayor Muizu of Male told our reporter.

Mu Yizu served as the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure in the Maldives and was a firsthand witness to cooperation projects such as the China Malaysia Friendship Bridge. "Maldives is one of the first countries to respond to the initiative of jointly building the the Belt and Road. Malaysia China cooperation has helped improve Maldives' infrastructure construction and consolidated the foundation of national economic development." Muizu said that currently, Malaysia China economic and trade cooperation has a good momentum and great potential for tourism cooperation. The two sides are strengthening interaction in many fields and at multiple levels. "As the Mayor of Male, I am particularly proud that we have established friendly city relationships with multiple Chinese cities."

"The joint construction of the 'the Belt and Road' has become popular in Maldives." When the reporter interviewed in Maldives, he ran into the grocery store owner Shiyam. He happily held the journalist's hand and said, "The cooperation between Malaysia and China has brought great changes to our hometown. In recent years, our store has welcomed many Chinese tourists. In the future, I plan to build an 8-story building, all made of Chinese building materials. I sincerely look forward to more and better cooperation between Malaysia and China."