A Proud Day
Chinese pharmacist receives national honour for dedicated medical services in Central African Republic
Jin Liangyan has a special connection with 29 June. Towards the end of her 18-month tenure as a member of the 18th Chinese medical mission to the Central African Republic (CAR), President Faustin Archange Touadéra recognised her contribution with a Commander’s Tie - the highest award bestowed by the nation for exceptional service in the fields of business, human rights, and social welfare. The award may, under exceptional circumstances, be granted to overseas individuals. She retold her experience in a short video that won the third prize in the 2021 China-Africa Video and Photo Competition, with a sense of immense pride.
A pharmacist from Hangzhou’s Xixi Hospital, Jin began working at the SinoCentral African Friendship University Hospital in Bangui, the CAR’s capital, in
December 2020 together with nine other team members. Despite the misconception that pharmacists are only “carriers” who mechanically provide prescribed medications, they do play a crucial and necessary part in patient care.
Jin’s place of work, the dispensary, is a unique and independent component of the Chinese medical mission. She was in charge of reviewing all prescriptions by herself each day and figuring out the cost of medicines before giving them to patients. She was required to wear a completely waterproof garment to prevent infection during the epidemic, despite the temperatures sometimes topping 30 degrees Celsius.
Jin’s command of the French language enabled her to communicate with the patients and explain the dosage. She was eager to educate them about the harmful consequences of alcohol use on their treatment and make sure they followed the prescribed diet in order to guarantee the effect of the medicines. She had to maintain correct records of the cost and location of every medicine in order to find them quickly in the absence of computerised equipment. Jin prepared the antimalarial medicines ahead of time to cut down on waiting time given the prevalence of malaria in the CAR.
Jin also addressed the shortage of pharmaceutical resources, which was a constant worry, by taking initiative to develop a system for managing the dispensary by cataloguing inventories and noting the expiry dates. She was also eager to share
STORIES FROM 2021 CHINA-AFRICA VIDEO AND PHOTO COMPETITION
her professional knowledge and the latest drug information with her local colleagues.
Jin was not only the mission’s pharmacist, but also its accountant. As doing the accounting needs to connect to the Internet, she always had to wait until after midnight to do this task since her Internet was always unstable.
In her spare time, Jin read, recorded videos, and took photos. She really enjoyed watching the sunset from the roof. This peaceful time allowed her to observe the lives of the residents, while letting her thoughts flow freely. “Every day when I look at the residents here, I think a lot about their lives. What they present to us is always their kind smiles,” she said in the video.
Jin has gained the team’s respect and affection with her outstanding performance. The programme coordinator, Elie Nganawei, said in a letter of appreciation, “You have demonstrated not only selflessness, dynamism and diligence in the fulfilment of your tasks, but also close collaboration with the Central African side. The Central African people will miss you when you leave the Central African Republic. We do, however, hope that you’ll be able to come back and work here in the next missions.” Returning to the CAR is indeed something Jin has planned for the future.