Naval hospital ship offers services in Djibouti

Having sailed nearly 10,000 miles from China, the Chinese hospital ship Peace Ark has arrived in Djibouti, and is now providing free medical services to local people, when the temperature can reach 40 degree Celsius.

Mahammad Hassan Abadid, 42, a worker at the old port of Djibouti, was in the cardiovascular department on the second floor. Muhammad worried that he had diabetes, due to obesity.

Muhammad said he was touched by the warm and professional services of the Chinese doctors.

"As Djibouti's medical conditions are lagging behind, Djibouti is in great need of services such as these provided by Chinese hospital ships," Muhammad said with a smile.

At the door of the dental clinic on the second floor of the Peace Ark, more than a dozen Djiboutians and Chinese working in Djibouti are waiting for treatment. One of them was Idriss Zbrattim Moussa, suffering from toothache for over five months.

He had been reluctant to seek treatment because of the high treatment cost in Djibouti. With the arrival of Peace Ark and Chinese doctors, however, Moussa's tooth problem was finally solved.

Wang Jin, who has been working in Djibouti for about four years at a Chinese-funded enterprise, is often troubled by stomach pain.

"I did not expect that today I am able to come to the Peace Ark of such a close distance, I was attended by the Chinese doctors, and I felt warm," Wang said.

Muhammad and Wang are among the many people who have received services at the Peace Ark.

In the years between 2010 and 2015, the Peace Ark paid visits to Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania. A total of 29 countries and regions, and 120,000 people have received free on-board medical and humanitarian services.

The Peace Ark is 178 meters long, with a total area of 4,000 square meters. It has eight operation rooms, seven health care offices and 300 beds. A total of 115 health care workers are on board, mostly from the Naval Medical University, of which 60 percent have senior titles.

The Peace Ark arrived in Djibouti on Wednesday and was expected to carry out a nine-day medical service in Djibouti. It will then travel to Sierra Leone, Gabon, Tanzania and other countries to provide free medical and humanitarian services.