China-Africa Ties: Malian doctor becomes practitioner of TCM in China

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Traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, has become more popular around the world, but it still has its skeptics. 30 years ago, a Malian doctor came to China and became the first ever foreign post-doctoral TCM fellow in China. CGTN's Feng Yilei reports from southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Cupping therapy, acupuncture and pulse feeling, typical Chinese therapeutic methods practiced regularly by this Malian doctor for over three decades. Dr. Diarra Boubacar came to China in 1984 as an exchange student of western medicine. He later developed an obsession with this new medicinal system.

DR. DIARRA BOUBACAR TCM PRACTITIONER "That was my really first impression-wow, Chinese medicine is so efficient."

Learning TCM is never easy for a foreign beginner. For Diarra, challenges arose trying to read medicine literature written in ancient Chinese. That was his early trial and error period. But it was also when he started earning patients' confidence.

DR. DIARRA BOUBACAR TCM PRACTITIONER "I still remember my first patient ran away after four days with no patient. I went to follow her and finally convinced her. I said- yes, I'm the one you are looking for."

Now he masters multiple Chinese dialects.

But Dr. Diarra's life journey took another turn in 1997 when he joined the organization Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF.

Along with nonprofit treatments for leprosy and AIDS, Dr. Diarra has trained over 4,000 village doctors in Southwest China. And he believes it is extremely important to promote TCM health care methods in rural areas that have a rich source of herbs but not much western medicine or related apparatuses.

Efforts of strengthening medical services at the grassroots level also include periodic exchange projects with smaller medical institutions. Here at Yiliang county hospital, this visiting African physician has breathed new life into a once weak TCM department.

LIU JIAMEI, TCM PRACTITIONER YILIANG FIRST PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL "He uses very simple words to explain complicated ideas, filling our knowledge gaps. We are motivated by his passion and devotion."

But when asked about why he didn't devote himself to under-served areas back home, Boubacar quotes a Chinese saying that each thing has its time.

DR. DIARRA BOUBACAR TCM PRACTITIONER "I feel the right time is now because now because now when I want to take this TCM through the Belt and Road initiative up to Africa, up to Mali, it should be easier than ten years ago."

In fact, African folk healing remedies share lots of similarities with TCM. There are over 6,000 types of herbal medicine in Africa. Diarra says that will allow him to utilize all his experience in China to carry forward the deeply rooted culture in his homeland.

DR. DIARRA BOUBACAR TCM PRACTITIONER "I don't think I can train another 3,000 village doctors in my fifties but if I can train at least 300 African physicians that will be really useful."

As Boubacar says, it's no longer a matter of your village or my village. There's no border for the global village. Feng Yilei, CGTN, Yiliang County in Yunnan Province.