National and Chinese military doctors are exchanging experiences on the Chinese navy’s “Arca da Paz” hospital ship, moored in the Port of Maputo, with the capacity to treat 700 people a day, a military source said this Friday, 9 August.
“We will have the Armed Forces, civil health and the Chinese navy team on the ship. As doctors, the fact that they are interacting with other colleagues from another region is a moment that we think is an opportunity to exchange experiences and learn from each other,” said Sidónia Massangaie, director of the health department at the General Staff of the Armed Defence Forces of Mozambique (FADM).
According to the Lusa news agency, the Chinese ship “Arca da Paz” will be docked in Maputo harbour until the 15th of this month to provide support and medical assistance to Mozambican military personnel, their dependents and the general population, the latter by “registering in a tent set up for the purpose at the Mozambican Navy Command”.
This is the second time that China’s “Peace Ark” has docked in Mozambique, as part of the co-operation between the two countries, after having been in the country in 2017, when at least 16,000 patients were treated.
“It’s a differentiated unit with all the medical specialities. What defines the specialities is this ship’s capacity to provide care. We think it brings added value through the exchange of experiences and procedures. We’ll have the opportunity to see how others do it,” added Sidónia Massangaie.
The hospital ship left China on 16 June, with visits scheduled to 13 countries, namely Mozambique, the Seychelles, Tanzania, Madagascar, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Benin, Mauritania, Djibouti and Sri Lanka.
We will be with the Armed Forces, civil health and the Chinese navy team on the ship.As doctors, the fact that you’ll be interacting with other colleagues from another region is a moment that we think is an opportunity to exchange experiences and learn from each other
Sidónia Massangaie
“Before Mozambique, the ship travelled to Madagascar and then on to South Africa,” said a Chinese source.
The Chinese navy hospital ship is a Chinese-built maritime emergency medical support platform, equipped with operating theatres, medical offices, nursing stations and hundreds of beds, as well as an ambulance helicopter.
The vessel has already provided free medical and humanitarian services to more than 290,000 people in 45 countries and regions in Africa, America and Oceania between 2010 and 2023, in a series of medical service missions called the “Harmonious Mission”.
