Building a Shared Future: Chinese medical teams have visited Rwanda since 1982

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02:21

China is providing healthcare support to countries across Africa. Back in 1982, Beijing and Kigali signed a deal to send Chinese medical teams to Rwanda. Since then, 18 batches of Chinese doctors have been saving lives. CGTN's Thuli Tshabalala has that story.

This is the Kibungo hospital in eastern Rwanda. It's the first Chinese medical facility to be built in the country in the 1980s. And this is Doctor Li Junsheng. He's preparing for a busy day.

DR LI JUNSHENG, MEMBER, CHINESE MEDICAL TEAM "Bringing our medical technology to better serve those most in need is actually our most sacred mission as a doctor."

Doctor Li has been in Rwanda for more than seven years.

And in that time, he's grown to love the people.

DR LI JUNSHENG, MEMBER, CHINESE MEDICAL TEAM "Seeing that people are in urgent need of our help and medicines has a great impact on us. We feel that we should devote ourselves to serve such kind people."

Doctor Li believes China's biggest achievement when it comes to health care in Africa has been providing quality medical services for people who can't afford it.

PATIENT "I'm very lucky to have met Chinese doctors here. Without their treatement, I may not have recovered."

About two hours drive from the Kibungo hospital is the Masaka facility -- a new hospital built by China.

The facility caters for more than 3-hundred thousand people from the region. Doctor Hassdalai is a dental expert. It's his first time in Rwanda. And already he sees dozens of patients each day.

DR HASSDALAI, DENTIST, CHINESE MEDICAL TEAM "Patients definitely don't recognize me, but that doesn't matter much. What I want is that they remember it's a Chinese doctor who helped them. Then that's enough."

Chinese doctors have been in Rwanda for well over three decades.

And they will continue coming to the East African country to help those in need -- for decades to come.

Thuli Tshabalala, CGTN.