A see-off ceremony for the 27th and 23rd groups of the Hunan medical aid team dispatched to the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Republic of Zimbabwe was held in Changsha on February 27, 2026.

There are 20 members in the medical aid group to Sierra Leone, including 10 from the Central South University. Other members come from eight grade A tertiary hospitals across Hunan.

The medical team dispatched to Zimbabwe consists of 10 members, including four from the Yueyang, Changde, and Yiyang municipal health commissions. One member is from the Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the first public health specialist to be part of a medical mission to the country. Other members are from grade A tertiary hospitals across the province.

The average age of the team members is about 40 years old. Among them, 22 of them hold the title of associate professor or higher, 11 hold doctoral degrees, and 14 hold master's degrees. They specialize in 18 disciplines, including traditional Chinese medicine, internal medicine, gynecology, and emergency medicine.

Hunan has been among the earliest provinces in China to respond to the national call and has long remained steadfast on the front lines of overseas medical assistance. In 1963, medical personnel from Hunan were among the 13 members of China's first overseas medical team dispatched to Algeria. In 1973, Hunan Province organized its first medical team to provide healthcare services in Sierra Leone. In 1985, the province dispatched its first medical team to Zimbabwe.

For 63 years, successive generations of medical professionals from Hunan have been dispatched to Africa, safeguarding lives with their exceptional medical skills and fostering friendship through selfless dedication, earning high praise from the international community.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan