Xu Chengkun, a doctor sent by Genertec's subsidiary Genertec Universal Medical Group Co., Ltd. to Africa for medical assistance, returned home after a 567-day stay on the African continent.

As a member of the 18th Chinese medical assistance team to Guinea-Bissau, Xu has interpreted the spirit of "the doctor's benevolence" through actions. He has been granted the honorary title of "outstanding member of foreign medical aid team" by the Ministry of Public Health of Guinea-Bissau and China-Guinea Friendship Hospital, where Xu has worked during the medical mission.

China has dispatched medical assistance teams to Guinea-Bissau since 1976. In May 2020, Xu heard that Genertec Universal Medical would send a doctor to take part in medical assistance tasks in Africa, and he immediately signed up for the mission. After five months of training for relevant tasks, Xu was successfully selected for the medical assistance team. In April 2021, he and other members of the team arrived in Guinea-Bissau.

Chinese Embassy in Guinea-Bissau donated equipment to the China-Guinea Friendship Hospital and jointly built COVID-19 testing lab and launched a COVID-19 vaccination campaign with the hospital. Thanks to the campaign, Chinese people in Guinea-Bissau have received COVID-19 vaccines produced by Chinese companies.

Xu has actively taken part in relevant activities, and put forward constructive suggestions for COVID-19 nucleic acid and antibody tests as well as other new projects.

The medical assistance team often provided free medical diagnosis and treatment services for and spread health knowledge among local people. Xu and his teammates have distributed medicine and popularized knowledge about disease prevention among local people and Chinese companies operating in the country for many times.  

In an effort to improve the capacity of the hospital, Xu and his fellow team members gave lectures and conducted training in medical skills every month during their stay at the hospital.

In addition, Xu has analysed problems and optimized relevant links in the work of the lab of the hospital according to the ISO 15189, an international standard that specifies the quality management system requirements particular to medical labs, significantly improving the capacity and work efficiency of the lab.Thanks to these efforts, the medical assistance team has cultivated a strong medical team for the hospital.

"When I saw the big smiles on their faces and felt their trust in Chinese doctors, I got a better understanding of why we send medical teams to foreign countries and how sacred my profession is," Xu said.