Chinese Peacekeeping Forces in South Sudan (Wau) Conduct Humanitarian Assistance Activities
Chinese Peacekeeping Forces in South Sudan (Wau) Conduct Humanitarian Assistance Activities
Peacekeeping Medical Detachment Completes Emergency Medical Evacuation Mission
Photo: Detachment conducting medical evacuation. Photo by Ma Guodong.
PLA Daily report by special correspondent Wang Yi: Recently, China's 16th batch of peacekeeping engineering and medical detachments deployed to South Sudan (Wau) entered local refugee camps to conduct free medical consultations and material donation activities, receiving high praise from local residents and United Nations officials.
The security situation around the Wau mission area is complex and supplies are scarce. Many displaced persons are concentrated in the refugee camps, where the level of basic medical care is low and school teaching facilities are rudimentary. While fulfilling engineering support and medical treatment missions to a high standard, our peacekeeping officers and soldiers have proactively shouldered humanitarian responsibilities and provided assistance to local residents within their means.
Our peacekeeping officers and soldiers set up free medical consultation services at temporarily established treatment points, patiently conducting examinations, diagnoses, and wound debridement for residents. Targeting locally prevalent conditions such as skin diseases and respiratory illnesses, the officers and soldiers carefully explained personal hygiene and health knowledge to residents, and distributed specialized medicines and disinfection supplies free of charge.
From "China" to "peace," and then to "friend" — at makeshift Chinese-language classrooms established on-site, our peacekeeping officers and soldiers patiently explained to children the meaning of Chinese characters and told stories of China's peaceful development, allowing the children to experience the unique charm of Chinese culture. The officers and soldiers also presented the children with stationery supplies. "These precious stationery supplies will effectively improve the children's learning conditions," a schoolteacher said gratefully, adding that these practical actions not only built a bridge of friendship but also sowed the seeds of peace and goodwill in the children's hearts.
PLA Daily report by Miao Changhao and Li Shuting: Recently, China's 16th batch of peacekeeping medical detachment deployed to South Sudan (Wau) provided emergency treatment to a friendly-force peacekeeper in the mission area who had suffered a sudden illness, and promptly arranged medical evacuation to a higher-level hospital for follow-on treatment.
At 2:40 a.m. that day, a friendly-force peacekeeper suddenly developed respiratory distress, high fever, and frequent diarrhea. After initial treatment at a Level 1 hospital showed no improvement, the patient developed symptoms including confusion and rapid breathing, with extremely unstable vital signs. At approximately 4:00 a.m., the patient was urgently transferred to our peacekeeping medical detachment. After more than two hours of all-out resuscitation efforts, the patient's consciousness improved; however, examination revealed symptoms including multiple spinal space-occupying lesions with bone destruction. The detachment immediately initiated a multidisciplinary joint consultation. By 7:30 a.m., the patient's condition showed slight stabilization. However, following a comprehensive assessment, evacuation for further treatment was determined to be necessary. The detachment immediately activated its emergency mechanism and notified the commander of the unit to which the patient belonged.
The detachment's aeromedical evacuation team carried out work in accordance with the contingency plan, simultaneously advancing medical record compilation, emergency supply loading, and flight application procedures. At 11:10 a.m., the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) approved the evacuation request. After a two-hour flight, the aircraft arrived in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, where the evacuation team safely transferred the patient to a higher-level hospital, completing the emergency evacuation mission.
This was the first emergency medical evacuation mission completed by the detachment since its deployment to the mission area. The mission comprehensively tested the detachment's prior training results and fully tempered the officers and soldiers' capabilities in emergency medical treatment and urgent evacuation.