On August 16, the Chinese Naval Hospital Ship Peace Ark which docked at the Port of Maputo, Mozambique on August 9 wrapped up its goodwill visit to the East African country and departed to South Africa. The visit, which marked the Peak Ark’s first return to the country in 7 years, once again presented an opportunity to strengthen China-Mozambique medical cooperation. During the Peace Ark’s visit to Mozambique in 2017, Chinese medical staff provided free consultation and treatment for nearly 10,000 people. Forty-four cases of surgery were carried out aboard the ship and more than 4,000 people in the country received auxiliary examination. In a similar fashion, during the ship’s recent visit, the Chinese medical staff of the Naval Hospital Peace Ark, supported by former international students of China’s Naval Medical University who are presently healthcare workers in Mozambique provided medical services to local residents on the ship’s main platform. On August 14, the ship Peace Ark treated 1,658 patients, setting a new record for the highest number of treatments in a single day during the mission. During the 7-day visit in Mozambique, the ship Peace Ark performed seventy-four surgeries and treated more than 7,300 patients.

In addition, multiple Chinese medical teams were dispatched to local hospitals where they offered itinerant medical services – the Chinese team jointly carried out medical treatment, academic exchanges, cultural events and other activities with their Mozambique counterparts. For Mozambique where health infrastructure is limited and medicine stock-outs are common, with only three doctors per 100,000 people – one of the lowest in the world, the visit from the Chinese Naval Hospital Ship Peace Ark is essential for promoting equitable access to healthcare in the country. The visit to Mozambique, which is the Chinese Naval Hospital Ship Peace Ark’s fourth stop on the Mission Harmony-2024, has once again contributed to forge a fruitful China-Mozambique medical cooperation.

Since it was commissioned in 2008, the Peace Ark, known as Fangzhou in Chinese, which is China’s first standard ocean-going hospital and the world’s first 10,000-ton-level professional hospital ship, has so far in its 16-year-old voyage visited forty-five countries and regions, providing free medical services to more than 290,000 people. In its latest voyage, labelled the Mission Harmony-2024, the 10th mission for the Peace Ark, the ship, host to over 100 personnel onboard, seventeen clinical departments and five auxiliary diagnostic departments, set sail from China on June 16 and is expected to visit 13 countries during the trip – twelve of these countries are in Africa, namely, Angola, Benin, South Africa, Mozambique, Gabon, Djibouti, Tanzania, Seychelles, the Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Madagascar and Cameroon. In Tanzania, which was the Peace Ark’s second destination of Mission Harmony-2024, the arrival of the ship on July 16 was part of a host of activities that marked the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of China-Tanzania diplomatic relations – the arrival of the ship Peace Ark at the port of Dar es Salaam, its third visit to the East African country, was greeted with a grand traditional welcome ceremony attended by Tanzania’s military and political officials.

During the 7-day friendly visit to Tanzania, the Chinese Naval Hospital Ship Peace Ark provided medical services to more than 8,000 patients and undertook over 80 surgeries, including cataract operations and renal cyst decompression procedures. The ship Peace Ark also dispatched more than 10 medical teams to local hospitals, communities and schools where Chinese healthcare officials provided medical services, health education and emergency skills training – contributing to improve local health systems. In fact, in Africa, where over 600 million people lack access to basic healthcare services, and overall health expenditure in the region remains inadequate to meet rising healthcare demands, as the continent accounts for only one percent of annual global expenditures, the free medical services offered by the ship Peace Ark is crucial to eliminating formidable barriers that impede equitable access to healthcare. For example, in Seychelles, the smallest country in Africa, which was the ship Peace Ark’s first destination of Mission Harmony-2024 on the continent, the number of people that received medical treatment reached nearly 1,200 per day – showing the essential role the ship Peace Ark plays in strengthening access to healthcare in the region. In an interview with the China Central Television (CCTV), the President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, who said he expects another visit from the Ship Peace Ark, acknowledged the contribution of the Chinese Naval Hospital Ship Peak Ark in enhancing access to healthcare in the country. He said ‘‘it’s a ship that is well-equipped. It’s bigger than our main hospital. We are very grateful for the services rendered to our people’’

With footprints in over six continents, the ship Peace Ark has provided medical support to various countries, especially those in dire need including Sierra Leone – when the West African country recorded the first case of the Ebola epidemic in 2014, the ship Peace Ark offered crucial services. In its attempt to help provide lasting solutions for the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, China sent more than 1,200 medical workers to treat over 800 patients and provided health training to more than 12,000 people – together with relevant stakeholders, the ship Peace Ark provided emergency medical assistance at a time when countries in West Africa needed it the most.

As the ship Peace Ark embarks on its Mission Harmony-2024 across countries in Africa, the continent once again faces another disease outbreak. On August 13, 2024 the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared the ongoing Mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security, the first of such a declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017. According to the Africa CDC, at least 13 African countries have reported Mpox outbreaks – so far in 2024 these countries have confirmed 2,863 cases and 517 deaths, primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At this difficult time, the free medical services offered by the ship Peace Ark in the region, a timely action in the China-Africa medical cooperation, will help ease the burden on local health institutions – and support them from being overwhelmed as they mobilise scarce resources to attend to Mpox patients and other serious health conditions. As the Ship Peace Ark sails through countries in the Africa, the visit is another avenue to strengthen China-Africa medical cooperation, which is essential for enhancing access to healthcare on the continent.