CONAKRY, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Inside the China-Guinea Friendship Hospital in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, a consultation room dedicated to traditional Chinese medicine has taken on an unexpected second role.
Bright studio lights cast a glow over a long table where Chinese and Guinean doctors sit shoulder to shoulder before a camera. Behind them hangs a blue-and-purple backdrop bearing the bilingual Chinese-French title Talking Health with Julie.
"Hello everyone, welcome to Talking Health with Julie," said Niu Hongyi, an interpreter with the Chinese medical team in Guinea, as an episode on proper handwashing begins.
To local viewers, it is a simple health education program. For the Chinese medical team, however, it represents a broader mission: taking healthcare beyond hospital walls and bringing prevention directly to the public.
"By producing these videos, we hope to move beyond simply waiting for patients to come to us," said Wang Bin, head of the 31st Chinese medical team in Guinea. "We want to spread more health knowledge, help people better understand diseases, and encourage them to seek care earlier."
Since arriving in Guinea 15 months ago, the 24-member Chinese medical team has treated more than 4,000 patients, performed over 700 surgeries, and helped save the lives of more than 100 critically ill patients. The team has also introduced over 40 new medical technologies and conducted extensive training programs for local healthcare workers.
Yet amid their daily clinical work, team members noticed a recurring challenge.
Many patients lacked basic health knowledge and often delayed seeking treatment until illnesses had become severe. Illnesses that could have been managed through early intervention frequently progressed into emergencies.
The observation prompted the team to explore a new approach.
"One of our main tasks in Guinea is to share China's public health experience," said Cui Liangchao, deputy head of the medical team. "Based on local health conditions and the actual healthcare needs of the Guinean people, we decided to leverage the high-quality medical resources of the China-Guinea Friendship Hospital and the expertise of local doctors to create the Talking Health with Julie series."
To ensure the program resonates with local audiences, the team compiled a topic database based on the most frequently encountered health issues in daily clinical practice. Chinese and Guinean doctors are then invited to jointly record each episode.
The team began by compiling a database of topics drawn from the health issues most commonly encountered in clinical practice. Chinese and Guinean physicians are invited to jointly record episodes, each focusing on a specific disease or health concern.
Presented in both Chinese and French, the programs cover disease prevention, standardized treatment, and long-term health management. Since its launch, the series has produced 17 episodes, which are distributed through the hospital's social media platforms and several major media outlets in Guinea.
The medical team hopes the program will promote not only knowledge about disease prevention itself, but also a broader health concept that emphasizes the importance of preventing illness before it occurs.
Qi Zhili, an intensive care specialist with the Chinese team, regularly treats patients suffering from severe malaria, many of whom seek medical attention only after their condition has deteriorated into a life-threatening stage.
"In Africa, malaria remains a disease with high incidence and mortality rates," Qi said. "Especially during the rainy season, we treat many critically ill malaria patients. Many of them lack awareness of early prevention and timely treatment."
As a result, malaria prevention became one of the first major topics featured on Talking Health with Julie. Through practical advice on mosquito control and guidance on recognizing early symptoms, the program aims to help people seek care before the disease becomes dangerous.
The impact of the program is already becoming visible.
Camara, a 36-year-old Guinean, suffered an acute inferior myocardial infarction while traveling in Yiwu, a city in east China's Zhejiang Province. After returning home, he was unsure where to continue his follow-up treatment.
By chance, while browsing online, he came across Talking Health with Julie. The program introduced him to the China-Guinea Friendship Hospital and the Chinese medical team working there. Encouraged by what he learned, he drove to the hospital to seek advice.
Chinese doctors answered his questions in detail and developed a personalized follow-up treatment plan. Since then, he has returned twice for additional consultations.
The program has also become a platform for professional exchange between Chinese and Guinean healthcare workers.
Fatoumata Dabo, director of the hospital's acupuncture department and a former student in China, participated in an episode focused on rehabilitation medicine.
She said collaboration with the Chinese medical team has allowed her to acquire valuable professional experience and expressed hope that the partnership would benefit even more patients in the future.
Jean-Marie Kipela, the World Health Organization's representative in Guinea, described the hospital's health education programs as an innovative practice worthy of wider promotion. Such efforts, he said, help spread essential health knowledge while increasing public understanding of available healthcare services. ■
