The Cameroonian government is to further strengthen its cooperation with China in the area of public health, which has gained great achievements in the past 30 years, a senior official has said.

The cooperation between the two countries which began in the 1970s has proved very fruitful, with hundreds of Chinese doctors coming to the west African country during the last three decades to help the Cameroonian people, said Minister of Public Health Urbain Olanguena Awono Wednesday when addressing a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the first medical team sent by the Chinese government to Cameroon.

The past three decades of cooperation was "great and productive, " said Awono, "it has served the poorest group of people in Cameroon."

Since the first Chinese medical team came to Cameroon in 1975, more than 300 Chinese doctors from China's Shanxi province have served in the country. They have treated over 2 million Cameroon patients, performing around 40,000 operations and saving the lives of more than 25,000 seriously ill patients.

Awono hopes that this "exemplary" cooperation could be further broadened, especially in areas of technical training, maintenance of equipment, pharmacy, medical health infrastructure and the fight against AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases.

During the ceremony, Awono awarded 15 Chinese doctors working in Cameroon with the medal of honor, in order to commend the great contribution they have made to the improvement of public health in the country.

Source: Xinhua