A family member bids farewell to a member of the 24th Chinese medical assistance team departing for Madagascar at the airport in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, June 11, 2025. The 24th Chinese medical assistance team to serve in Madagascar departed on Wednesday from Lanzhou and is expected to arrive in the east African country on the afternoon of June 12 local time. (Xinhua)

The 24th Chinese medical assistance team to serve in Madagascar departed on Wednesday from Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, and is expected to arrive in the east African country on the afternoon of June 12 local time.

The team consists of 24 members from 18 medical institutions in Gansu, covering 13 specialties including general surgery, orthopedics and thoracic surgery. They will work alongside eight members of the 23rd Chinese medical team for Madagascar, who will remain in the country, to jointly carry out a two-year overseas medical aid mission.

Gansu has been dispatching medical teams to Madagascar since 1975. In the course of the past 50 years, a total of 24 teams comprising 719 personnel have been sent to this Indian Ocean island nation -- and they have treated more than 4.6 million patients and performed over 130,000 surgeries there.

Liang Weidong, deputy chief orthopedic physician at the No. 1 People's Hospital of Lanzhou and also a member of the 24th team, is heading to Madagascar for the second time. "Medical and living conditions in Madagascar are relatively basic. We must adapt to the environment while fully applying our expertise to provide the best possible care to local patients," Liang said.

Li Xingxiang, head of the 24th team and director of the foreign exchange and cooperation office of the health commission of the province, said Madagascar faces severe shortages of medical resources, leaving many patients without access to proper care. Over the years, members of the Chinese medical teams have overcome language barriers, environmental challenges and transportation difficulties -- earning praise from the local people for their medical skills and professional ethics.