In response to China's Belt and Road Initiative and Building a Global Community of Health for All proposed by President Xi Jinping, the first Overseas Training Course on Nursing Technology of Maternal Healthcare for Grenada, sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and undertaken by Hunan Children's Hospital, will be held at St. George's General Hospital from October 11 to 31, 2023, where 26 local midwives, nurses, and nursing administrators will be trained. The project aims to build capacity in healthcare services, in particular, maternal and child health care, by training a group of modern maternal and childcare professionals.

Grenada , located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain, has a total land area of 344 square kilometres and a estimated population of 113,000 people. It is facing challenges of medical resources constraints, as there are four public hospitals, with only 10 pediatricians and over 300 registered nurses. At present, there is no Chinese medical team stationed here year-round to provide medical assistance.

Xie Jianhui, member of the Party Committee and director of the Nursing Department of Hunan Children’s Hospital, who is in charge of the project’s execution, said that this overseas training course was designed to summarize China’s experience and technologies in maternal and child development suitable for Grenada’s local conditions, thus reducing the maternal death, the mortality rates of children under 5 and newborns. The programme encompasses theory lectures, skill trainings, medical rounds and free medical consultations, in which the lectures cover over 10 topics, including the general overview of China, Chinese culture, China national program for women’s and children development, basic and advanced life support, neonatal and preterm infant management, treatment of children’s surgical diseases, trauma management and intravenous infusion, together with the skills trainings of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and endotracheal intubation for neonates, children and adults.

Hon. Gayton J. La Crette, Minister for Health, Wellness and Religious Affairs of Grenada,recognized the contribution of China's medical assistance instrengthening Grenada-Chinahealth cooperation and friendship between the two peoples. He, on behalf of the Grenada’s government and people,expressed gratitude to China for assisting the health development of Grenada.He believed that this first training course in maternal and child health will not only cultivate practical health professional and enhance the capacity of medical treatment for mothers and children, but promote Grenada-China health cooperation.

Mr. Peng Wenlin, Chargé d'affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in Grenada, said that China and Grenada have forged an enduring friendship dating back to antiquity.Over the past 18 years, the two countries has witnessed fruitful bilateral collaboration in health care, infrastructure construction, etc. There have been 27 paediatric medical workers from Grenada visiting and being trained in Hunan Children's Hospital in recent years, which plays a positive role in further promoting the medical development and talent cultivation of Grenada, and consolidating the friendly relations between China and Grenada. It is hoped that this training course will offer a platform for bilateral exchanges and innovation, and contribute to building aglobal community of health for all.

It is known that during the 21-day training course, the experts team from Hunan Children's Hospital has visited the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Grenada and the Ministry of Public Administration of Grenada to report on the progress of China-Grenada hospital cooperation, project plan and future cooperation prospect. Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Peng Wenlin highly praised the hospital’s achievements in China-aid training, and would provide support for the application and implementation of future training programmes. Ms. Lane, head of Human Resources of the Ministry of Public Administration of Grenada, on behalf of the trainees, thanked the Chinese government for providing valuable learning opportunities, as the project would enhance the capacity of Grenada’s maternal and child health care. She looked forward to more training programmes on health to pass China's experience and practices in maternal and child health care to Grenada.

Hunan Children's Hospital, as the pediatric China-aid training unit in China and the “Belt and Road Maternal and Child Health Demonstration Training Hub”awarded by the UNICEF, hashosted 123 China-aid training programs, with 3,600 medical workersfor 110 developing countries and regionstrained. As a pioneer of the national maternal and child health project, the Hospital hasshared Hunan’s pediatric appropriate technologiesinto countries along the Belt and RoadInitiative, such as Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Zanzibar, and Fiji. In the recentyears, in the context of major country's diplomacywith Chinese characteristicsin the new era,the hospital took the lead in founding the “Children's Health Alliance forDeveloping Countries". This year, ithas been approved for the only scientific and technological assistance project by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China: Tanzania's pediatrics capacity building project.Hunan Children's Hospital has been working to promote fair and accessible healthcare services for all in developing countries by contributing Chinese wisdom, solutions, and strength.