An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 16, 2024 shows a view of the Pak-China Friendship Hospital in the Gwadar district of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province.(Xinhua/Jiang Chao)
by Misbah Saba Malik
GWADAR, Pakistan, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Nadia Akram Ali's life took a devastating turn when a health worker informed her that her five-year-old son was showing symptoms of acute typhoid fever and urgently needed to be hospitalized to save his life in the Gwadar district of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province.
"I felt utterly helpless. I didn't have the resources to take him to big hospitals in far-off cities and there was no proper hospital in Gwadar," she said, adding that faced with limited options, her husband decided to take their son to the newly inaugurated hospital in the city.
To the couple's astonishment, the Pak-China Friendship Hospital in Gwadar was beyond anything they had imagined. "It was just like the big, expensive hospitals I had only seen on TV, and I never dreamed that my family could access such quality care," Ali told Xinhua.
Inaugurated in May this year, the 100-bed hospital, which includes emergency, outpatient, inpatient, medical technology, administration, and logistics facilities, is already making a significant impact, receiving approximately 900 patients daily from Gwadar and the surrounding areas.
As a livelihood project under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the hospital's state-of-the-art building, consisting of single and multi-story structures, and its advanced medical equipment, including a modern laboratory, CT scanners, and ultrasound machines, have been generously donated by the Chinese government.
Some of the hospital's facilities are integrated with an existing 50-bed hospital in the city, creating a combined operation of 150 beds. The new hospital complex includes outpatient services, medical technology departments, and ward buildings, all supported by China.
Speaking to Xinhua, Affan Faiq Zada, the medical superintendent of the hospital, said that it is nothing short of a blessing for the local community, transforming healthcare access in the region.
"Previously, there were no specialized healthcare services, and people had to travel hundreds of kilometers to access even basic medical care. Now, with this purpose-built, state-of-the-art hospital, residents can access primary, secondary, and even tertiary healthcare services locally," he added.
Zada, who has worked in several well-reputed hospitals in Pakistan, said that modern scanning machines and advanced laboratories have greatly improved the speed and accuracy of diagnoses, allowing for timely treatment.
"The hospital's impact is tangible, and the locals have embraced it wholeheartedly, with many describing it as a life-changing development," he said, adding that healthcare outcomes in the region have drastically improved, largely due to China's generous donation. This hospital is the only facility of its kind within a 500-km radius.
He noted that to handle emergencies, the hospital's surgery department offers a wide range of services, including general surgery, orthopedics, and urology, with round-the-clock trauma care.
Beyond curative services, the hospital has made strides in preventive healthcare by raising awareness among the local population. Expectant mothers are encouraged to attend antenatal visits, and there is ongoing education on child nutrition.
Shazia Ali, a gynecologist at the hospital, said that due to a lack of facilities in Gwadar and nearby districts, the rate of neonatal fatalities, miscarriages, and maternal deaths was previously very high. However, with the new operating theaters and ultrasound machines, this ratio has substantially decreased even within just a few months of the hospital's inauguration.
The hospital has been widely praised throughout the district, gaining a reputation for its excellent services. Patients from neighboring districts also come for medical treatment.
According to patients and doctors at the hospital, the Pak-China Friendship Hospital has transformed healthcare in the region, offering top-tier services that were once inaccessible to the local population, and became a symbol of the strong partnership between China and Pakistan by providing much-needed relief and hope to the community.
Lian Wenyong, an engineer for the hospital's maintenance from the project's Chinese constructor, said that the Chinese constructor also provides a two-year warranty service for this donated project to Gwadar.
"We are on call at any time to provide timely maintenance and repairs so that Gwadar people can better enjoy medical services," the Chinese engineer said.
Launched in 2013, CPEC, the flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is a corridor linking the Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport, and industrial cooperation and is expanding to the fields of agriculture and livelihood, among others. ■
Patients wait for their turns at the Pak-China Friendship Hospital in the Gwadar district of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Sept. 16, 2024.(Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)
A doctor checks a patient at the Pak-China Friendship Hospital in the Gwadar district of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Sept. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)
This photo taken on Sept. 16, 2024 shows the Pak-China Friendship Hospital in the Gwadar district of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)
A girl waits at the registration counter at the Pak-China Friendship Hospital in the Gwadar district of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Sept. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)