Chinese doctors in Juba treat about 20 patients a day with acupuncture and physiotherapy

A Chinese medical team at Juba Teaching Hospital in South Sudan is treating about 20 patients a day with acupuncture and other traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) techniques alongside physiotherapy, Xinhua reported from Juba on 19 October 2026.

The 14th Chinese (Anhui) medical team has 16 members. It was dispatched by the health commission of China's Anhui Province and arrived in South Sudan on 6 September for a 53-week mission.

Jiang Tao, a doctor with the team who works in the hospital's Physical Therapy Department, said it treats about 20 patients a day, mainly for neurological and joint conditions such as post-stroke sequelae, facial paralysis, knee osteoarthritis and cervical spondylosis. Its techniques include acupuncture, moxibustion and cupping.

The previous team, the 13th, treated more than 13,500 outpatients, managed 1,700 inpatients and performed more than 200 surgeries during its one-year deployment at the hospital, the South Sudanese news site Sudans Post reported on 9 September 2026.

William Deng Deng, a 52-year-old employee of the South Sudan Revenue Authority, needed a wheelchair after a stroke in August. After starting treatment at the hospital, he can get around without one. “I was moving on the wheelchair, but now I am able to move around freely with the support of a walking stick,” he said, as quoted by Xinhua.

Omer Jadhallah, a 66-year-old Sudanese refugee living in Juba's Atlabara suburb, came to the department in mid-July with muscle stiffness and pain in the stump of a leg amputated in 2024. “When I came here, I had muscle stiffness, but due to the physiotherapy I am receiving, I am recovering,” he said.

Issa Ibrahim, a 50-year-old Sudanese national, had a stroke caused by high blood pressure that left one side of his body paralysed. “After two and a half months of care, I have fully regained my health and mobility,” he said. He is preparing for discharge.

Jacob Pitia Hillary, deputy head of the Physical Therapy Department, said: “Some of our patients who come here are usually afraid of the needles.” Once counselled, he said, they come to know the importance of acupuncture.

Elizabeth Denya Joseph, a 27-year-old physiotherapist at the department, completed specialised TCM training in China in April. She said acupuncture eases pain and improves circulation to support nerve recovery, and that local staff work with the Chinese team so patients recover faster.

Jiang said TCM emphasises holistic regulation and proactive disease prevention. Because it relies little on heavy pharmaceuticals, he said, it has a high safety profile.