People's Liberation Army provides medical assistance under the Peace Train-2019 (Linked to Project ID#88757 and #88761)

On August 15, 2019, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) began the China-Laos Army Humanitarian Medical Rescue Joint Exercise and Medical Service Activities (Chinese: 的中国-老挝军队人道主义医学救援联合演训活动暨医疗服务活动), also known as the "Peace Train-2019", with the Lao People's Armed Forces in Vientiane. After the completion of the exercise and from August 20 to August 26, 2019, the PLA medical team planned to be divided into smaller groups to carry out medical services activities based at the Hospital 103 of the Lao People’s Army in Vientiane, the 101st Hospital of the Lao People’s Army in Xiangkhouang, and the Hospital of the 5th Division of the Lao People's Armed Forces in Pakse City in the Champasak Province. Then, on August 19, 2019, a tourist bus carrying 46 people, including 44 Chinese citizens and two Laotian citizens, was involved in a major traffic accident 40 kilometers from the city of Luang Prabang; the accident killed 13 of the Chinese citizens, injured 29 other Chinese citizens and the two Laotian citizens, and left two other Chinese citizens missing. The accident occurred at the conclusion of the Peace Train-2019 exercise, so the PLA decided to provide medical assistance by dispatching medical teams drawn from the members of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University and Nanjing General Hospital of People's Liberation Army participating in the exercise. The PLA dispatched two groups of 10 members to the accident to care for the wounded. The first group featured a team leader, six military doctors - including cardiologists, respiratory intensive care specialists, orthopedists, general surgeons, and neurologists, and three nurses equipped for emergency response and care. The first and second groups arrived in Luang Prabang on the morning of August 20, 2019, bringing emergency medicine and equipment, blood for transfusion, first aid equipment, and other medical supplies. Above arrival, the medical team provided assistance at the local hospital, and then later the Chinese Hospital and the International Lao-China Hospital in Luang Prabang for diagnosis and early treatment of the wounded. 20 of the wounded were later transferred to the Hospital 103 of the Lao People’s Army in Vientiane, where Laotian and the PLA medical staff provided treatment jointly. Furthermore, on August 21 to August 25, 2019, the PLA medical team provided free physical examinations, consultations, and operations for Laotian soldiers and civilians in Vientiane, Xieng Khouang, and Pakse. It treated more than 1,000 patients each day. The PLA medical team also provided technical assistance and training for Laotian medical staff including lectures, guidance during surgery, and professional consultations; for example, on August 23, 2019, the PLA medical team conducted first aid training for the Laotian doctors and nurses of the Hospital of the 5th Division of the Lao People's Armed Forces in Pakse City. The PLA medical team also provided free consultations for Laotian soldiers and civilians in Luang Namtha Province. The PLA medical team that went to Pakse arrived on August 23, 2019. It examined and treated over 200 people, conducted 60 ultrasounds and X-rays, and distributed 300 medications. The PLA medical team also brought medications and medical equipment worth RMB 500,000 which were to be donated to Laos after the completion of the medical assistance, as captured by linked project ID#88761. Additionally, on August 24, 2019, the PLA medical team traveled to the Sanamxay district of the Attapeu Province in southern Laos to provide medical services to the local people. The district had been the site of severe flooding in July 2018, which the PLA provided medical assistance for (see project ID#65394). The return to the Sanamxay district was proposed by the Chinese Ambassador to Laos and designed by the Logistic Support Department of the Central Military Commission. The medical team, split into three smaller teams, included experts in cardiology, pediatric, liver disease, epidemiology, endocrinology, digestion, gynecology, otolaryngology, and general medicine. The team organized medical services activities and provided free consultations and brought inspection materials and medicines. The medical team also created Chinese-Lao bilingual health manuals to instruct the local population on disease prevention, self-care, dieting, and treatment. In total, the medical team treated 360 people in Attapeu Province, distributed 307 medicines and over 1,200 educational health manuals. At the end of their day-long stay, the medical team also donated all of their remaining medicine to the Attapeu Provincial Government, as captured by linked project ID#88757. The PLA medical team completed its medical assistance on August 25, 2019.

Additional details

The exact commitment date is unknown. For now, AidData has coded because commitment_date field as August 8, 2019 and checked commitment_date_estimated? field, as it is apparent according to "“和平列车”医疗队将赴老挝开展人道主义医学救援联合演训" that the PLA had committed to providing this medical assistance by this date.

Number of official sources

3

Number of total sources

12