The Chinese medical team in South Sudan launched a Medical Chinese Language Course at the Juba Teaching Hospital (JTH) to help ease communication between the South Sudanese medical staff and their Chinese counterparts.

Speaking during the launch of the Chinese language in Juba last Friday, the Acting Director-General for Juba Teaching Hospital, Dr. Pawil Arop Yor encouraged her South Sudanese medical team to enroll in the training.

“I would like to thank the government of China for helping our hospital and providing free medicines and equipment to the hospital. And now they are teaching us the Chinese language. So we are very happy and grateful to them. I am calling my colleagues who are working here at Juba Teaching Hospital to register for the Chinese Language training class,” she said. 

The Chinese Medical Team Head of Communication, Mr. Li Jinkuan says the training is meant to bring together China and South Sudan in areas of cooperation and opportunities.

“So, why we study medical Chinese language is just for more working opportunities for South Sudanese people in the future in China. For African people or South Sudanese is a good opportunity not just for study but also we are looking for working opportunities and ease communication with the Chinese people,” he said.

The Chinese medical team began coming into South Sudan in different batches from 2013 to date to help establish technical medical departments at the Juba Teaching Hospital to improve medical services in the country. 

The Chinese government has now upgraded JTH into a modern hospital with several departments that never existed before including neurology, cervical cancer, and fistula departments. It provides free medicines and equipment to the country's main referral health facility.