The 21st Chinese (Shanxi) medical aid team to Mbalmayo in Cameroon is awarded medals for their medical contributions. [Photo/Yellow River News]

Three individuals and one collective from North China's Shanxi province were honored for their contributions to China's foreign medical assistance on Dec 29 at an event in Beijing. This also marks the 60th anniversary of China dispatching medical aid teams internationally.

Shanxi has been sending medical teams to Africa since 1975. Over the past 48 years, a total of 67 medical teams, consisting of 1,419 members, have been dispatched to Cameroon, Djibouti, and Togo. Currently, there are 55 medical team members serving in African countries.

Generation after generation, medical teams have traveled to African lands to provide medical assistance to local patients, filling medical gaps in the recipient countries. Through technical training, academic exchanges, and other efforts, they have also contributed to the development of the recipient country's healthcare sector and to the improved health of local people.

The outstanding contributions of Shanxi's medical teams have received high praise from the governments and people of the recipient countries, as well as from Chinese embassies and Chinese communities in Africa. 

So far, 95 individuals have been awarded national-level medals such as the "Knight Medal" and the "Independent Medal" by the governments of these African countries. Additionally, 296 individuals have received honorary certificates from the health departments, hospitals and Chinese embassies in these countries.