On August 19th, Heilongjiang “Brightness Action” program in The Gambia was launched at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Gambia. Dr. Yusupha Touray, Permenant Secretary of Ministry of Health of The Gambia, Dr. Mustapha Bittaye, Chief Medical Director of EFSTH, Counsellor Tong Zhan of Chinese Embassy, along with the Ophthalmology Medical Team from Heilongjiang Province, representatives of Chinese Medical Team based in The Gambia, joined Gambian medical staff and patients in a brief launching ceremony.

This Brightness Action program is a follow-up to the visit of H.E Xu Qin, Secretary of the CPC Heilongjiang Provincial Committee, to The Gambia in April this year. During the visit, the two sides reached a series of Agreement or MOU on cooperation in agriculture, healthcare, infrastructure, and other areas. The Brightness Action program was the first to be implemented. Heilongjiang Province dispatched a 11-member medical team to The Gambia to carry out Brightness Action program. They will perform 200 cataract surgeries over the next two weeks, helping patients regain their sight.

In his speech, PS Touray highly praised the achievements of China-Gambia cooperation on health. On behalf of H.E. President Adama Barrow, he thanked the Chinese government and people for their sincere assistance. He hoped to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of health, especially in the capacity building of medical staff, stating that China’s support would continuously improve Gambia’s health care level and benefit more Gambian people.