Five senior specialists from the 26th Chinese Medical Aid Team to Zambia have been awarded Outstanding Physician Certificates by the Ministry of Health, after a year of clinical service that government officials say has permanently closed critical gaps in the country’s health system.
Health Permanent Secretary Kennedy Lishimpi presented the certificates on Tuesday to team leader Dr Zhang Yingjian, Dr Zhang Kun, Dr Han Xuechang, Dr Yang Tianbao, and Dr Zhang Wenwen at a ceremony held at Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital (LMUTH) in Lusaka.
“These doctors did not just treat patients. They transferred skills, built systems, and left us with a self-reliant medical workforce. That is the difference between aid and partnership,” he said.
Dr. Lishimpi said the team’s greatest legacy is not the number of surgeries performed, but the Zambian doctors and nurses now able to perform those procedures independently.
Team leader Dr Zhang Yingjian said the team operated under China’s foreign medical aid principles of reverence for life, dedication to patients, selfless service, and compassion.
“We overcame language barriers, equipment shortages, and harsh conditions because the goal was clear. We came to build local capacity in Zambia,” Dr Zhang said.
Beyond endoscopy, Drs Han Xuechang and Yang Tianbao introduced minimally invasive high-risk surgeries at LMUTH and mentored Zambian surgeons to take over the procedures.
Dr Zhang pledged to expand technical training, boost grassroots services, and develop cross-border telemedicine programmes to ensure the progress continues.
The 26th team concludes its mission in July 2026. The 27th Chinese Medical Aid Team is expected to arrive in August under a bilateral health agreement between Zambia and China dating back to 1978.