Chinese medical team leaves Haiti
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A Chinese medical team Monday left the Haitian capital for home after winding up a two-week emergency aid and epidemic control mission in the quake-stricken Caribbean country.
The team, consisting of 40 military medical professionals, participated in the relief efforts soon after its arrival here on Jan. 25 and delivered medicine and medical equipment to local people.
During its stay, the team has treated more than 4,000 wounded Haitians and played an important role in the medical and epidemic control efforts in the aftermath of the devastating Jan. 12 quake, Liu Wendou, head of the team, told Xinhua.
"After 13 days we are leaving with the satisfaction of having fulfilled our mission of helping the Haitians," he said moments before boarding a charted plane bound for Beijing.
Liu said that the conditions here were tough "accompanied by risks, but we are proud to have done something useful for those injured."
He said that the team had treated some 307 people everyday, and the process was like "working in a great big team."
Last week, Xinhua reporters witnessed the team providing trauma care, general medicine, pediatric care and gyneco-obstetric advice to displaced Haitians in Mayis Gate, a downtown refugee camp which hosts 15,000 people.
Many Haitians who had come to know the Chinese doctors went to Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport to bid them farewell.
"It a demonstration of the gratitude for what we did and for that we are grateful," said Liu.
Li Yuanxin, a gastroenterologist from Nanjing, China, said he feels honored to serve the Haitians, although his team's mission in Haiti was tough and risky.
A magnitude-7.3 tremor on Richter scale hit Haiti on Jan. 12, killing more than 212,000 people and wounding more than 200,000.
The Haitian capital was severely damaged and more than 1 million were left homeless.
China responded quickly to the quake and sent a search-and-rescue team to Haiti, which was replaced by the medical team that has just left the Haitian capital.
China lost eight police officers in the disaster and Chinese peacekeepers actively participated in the international aid efforts after the quake.
China also provided medicine, tents, and other emergency supplies for the Caribbean nation.
On Monday, the Chinese government delivered 25 tons of medical aid to quake-stricken Haiti, which included multiple types of epidemic prevention medicine.
China's quick response to Haiti's quake and the hard work of Chinese aid personnel won high appreciations from Haitians and the international community.
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