A Chinese navy hospital ship, the "Auspicious Ark," docked at the Port of Abidjan on Wednesday, the first visit of its kind to Côte d'Ivoire, to provide free medical care as part of a months-long humanitarian mission.
A welcoming ceremony was held on the quayside, attended by China's ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, Wu Jie, the Ivorian navy chief of staff, Rear Admiral Kouame Celestin N'Guessan, and the director general of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan, Kassoum Traore. The ship's commanders, Zhou Han Wen and Han Xue Feng, also took part.
Local media reported the vessel is due to stay in Abidjan from Oct. 14 to 21, offering free consultations, examinations and specialist care. Services are expected to include cardiology, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology, ear, nose and throat care, urology, general surgery and dentistry.
The ship, about 178 metres (584 feet) long, has 18 clinical departments and five diagnostic units. More than 100 medical staff from over 20 institutions are on board, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
The vessel left the eastern Chinese port of Qingdao on July 22 for its first overseas deployment. It is China's third indigenously designed and built ocean-going hospital ship of the 10,000-tonne class. The mission, called Harmony-2026, is the 12th of its kind organised by the People's Liberation Army Navy since 2010 and is scheduled to last more than 200 days, taking in several African and South Asian countries.
Before reaching Abidjan, the ship called at Nouakchott in Mauritania, where China's defence ministry said more than 7,500 consultations and over 30 surgeries were carried out. It then stopped in Dakar, Senegal, and Conakry, Guinea, where it stayed from Oct. 3 to 10.
Beijing presents such missions as part of its health cooperation with partner countries. Some analysts also see them as a tool of naval diplomacy that allows the Chinese navy to visit foreign ports and work with local authorities. Others note that a stay of a few days cannot meet medical needs that build up throughout the year.
Details on how patients can access care in Abidjan, including registration, screening and location, were not immediately available. In Conakry, patients were selected after a screening campaign held in September.