Rescue mission complete! At 19:01 on April 4, the 65-member Chinese rescue team landed at Beijing International Airport after a 12-hour flight from Mozambique.
What were the key elements of this international rescue mission that required a 12,000 km flight from China to southern Africa? Swift response and professional rescue ability matter.
The Chinese rescue team was the first foreign aid team to arrive in Cyclone Idai-stricken Mozambique. It was also the first team dispatched abroad by China's newly established Ministry of Emergency Management to provide aid service, a milestone for China's international aid and cooperation.
Ensuring an efficient international rescue mission required effective coordination among many ministries and departments, including the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management, newly established International Development Cooperation Agency, Chinese embassies in respective countries, China International Search and Rescue Team (CISAR), Chinese enterprises and UN agencies and local authorities of public health and more.
With strong coordination, the Chinese rescue team conducted a 10-day research and emergency rescue, relief and disinfection work, and more. Over 3,300 patients were treated, thousands of victims in local accommodation centers received urgent medical assistance, 330,000 square meters of disaster-hit areas were cleaned and sanitized. Technology-equipped rescue matters.
A woman walks past a small concrete slaughterhouse as waters begin to recede in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, in Buzi, near Beira, Mozambique, March 24, 2019. /VCG Photo
By utilizing an unmanned aerial vehicle, the rescue team helped UN offices and local authorities have more accurate information to draft emergency rescue plans and early warnings.
Organization and mobilization are important in international rescue.
According to the UN, Cyclone Idai and its triggered deadly flooding and landslides have affected almost 3 million people in southern Africa, particularly Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, with almost 1 billion U.S. dollars' worth of infrastructure demolished, around 500,000 people driven from their homes and a million children in need of urgent assistance.
As the cyclone severely hit Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, Chinese enterprises and communities, the Chinese medical team and volunteers mobilized to provide assistance and join with locals in disaster relief. The Chinese government also provided emergency relief immediately after the disaster happened.
Two Chinese development funds delivered 100 tons of rice to Mozambique on March 27. The rice was produced by the Wanbao Africa Agriculture Development Co., an agriculture company in Mozambique aiming at improving local food security.
The Chinese community and enterprises in Zimbabwe donated 200,000 U.S. dollars' worth of cash and goods to help the victims of Cyclone Idai. The aid comprised of food, tents, water and blankets needed for victims. Sino-Zim Wildlife Foundation, Chinese Federation of Zimbabwe, Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe-China Business Association were among the donors.
China's rescue team donates medicines to local residents in Mozambique, March 26, 2019. /Xinhua Photo
In Malawi, the Chinese Embassy, on behalf of the Chinese Red Cross, donated 50,000 U.S. dollars to help deal with the disaster. Chinese nationals doing business there also contributed 41,000 U.S. dollars. Emergency food aid including rice also arrived. The Chinese medical team, which included an anti-malaria medical team dispatched by Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, joined the rescue work.
Deepening and expanding health assistance and disaster aid to Africa has been one of the priorities in China-Africa cooperation. In 1963, China became the first country to send a medical team to support the newly independent Algeria, which had a shortage of medical services after former colonizer France withdrew all doctors and medical staff.
During the 2014 Ebola outbreaks in West Africa, Chinese medical teams continued their rescue work in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Mobilized laboratory and research centers were established in Sierra Leone and new medical treatment centers were constructed in Liberia – these have become milestones in China-Africa cooperation.
Within the framework of the "10 major China-Africa cooperation plans" and "Eight Major Initiatives," China and Africa will strengthen cooperation on medical and health policies. China will continue to support Africa's efforts to strengthen its public health and disease control, and prevention system and capacity building. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – the location of the African Union headquarters – the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which can support medical research and disaster relief for the whole African continent, was established with Chinese assistance.
International rescue work needs more coordination and capacity building, as does China's international rescue approach. After the Chinese rescue team's successful debut in Mozambique, China will more actively participate in international rescue with many partners like the U.S. on disaster relief, humanitarian rescue, medical support and more. China needs to learn advanced technologies from other countries and the world will become aware that China is an important and reliable stakeholder in international rescue.
Copy Editor/Kang Sijun
Editor/Kang Sijun
Author: Shen Shiwei is an Adjunct Fellow at Charhar Institute and former government relations and business consultant for Chinese enterprises in Africa.
Source: CGTN，2019-04-06
Original Link: https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d414e7855444f33457a6333566d54/index.html