Laotian doctors benefit from cross-border medical cooperation with Yunnan

In recent years, as cross-border medical cooperative efforts between Xishuangbanna People's Hospital(XPH), Yunnan province and Laos have continued to grow, more and more Laotian people are benefiting from the programme. Even Laotian medical workers themselves have improved their skills through short-term training sessions.

Shoneslivong is a Laotian doctor who has participated in one such training session. "We were not only taught theoretical knowledge, but also learned to operate with the guidance of our instructors. I learned Chinese physiotherapy methods and for the first time I saw moxibustion techniques. They are amazing and work well," he said.

To help train undergraduate medical students for hospitals in five provinces in northern Laos, Xishuangbanna People's Hospital and Kunming University of Science and Technology jointly enrolled 20 Laotian students in 2015.

Khamdy Sintham was one of those students, and received financial support from the China-Laos medical cooperation project. "I'm so happy to be able to study in China. Here I can learn advanced medical technologies. But more importantly, I can watch the teachers operate before trying with my own hands. This is the most valuable experience," said Khamdy Sintham.

From 2014 till now, Xishuangbanna People's Hospital has trained 144 Laotian students and doctors in seven groups. Those students have come from eight separate medical institutions in Vientiane and seven provinces in northern Laos. Each training session lasted one to three months. In addition, over ten workshops on hospital management and medical technology have been held, and more than 400 Laotian trainees have participated in them. 

Text by Yao Chengcheng; photos provided by XPH

Editor: John Li