The largely state controlled Sri Lankan health sector is a comparatively high quality welfare system. Still on many instances media reports the hardships less privileged go through when state sector health professionals engage in strikes (refuse to work). To reduce this impact, state introduced duty free vehicle permits in the early 1990s for health sector employees. As a result people started talking about the ‘Doctor Sunny’ in addition to the ‘JR Delica’, ‘Rukmani Toyota’ & ‘Mitsubishi Attanayaka’ model etc. Although China is world’s number one electric vehicle producer, it may not be necessary for China to have such systems as Chinese surgical robots also strike (engage in) to save the sick. Latest reports from the People's Hospital in Yunnan, China indicates that a citizen from bordering Laos successfully underwent a surgical robot assisted right nephrectomy. It is the first time where a locally produced surgical robot operated a foreign patient. The procedure had lasted 60 minutes with blood loss under 20 ml (Ref. Chinese media).

Diseases without passports.

In October 2025 a critically ill three day old infant from Myanmar was cleared to use the medical green channel at the Chinese border within three minutes, rushed to Yunnan hospital & attended by Chinese doctors. The regional health corridor emerging in the Yunnan border is benefiting citizens of many countries in the Mekong region. These partnerships have been active since 2016. The ‘Lancang Mekong Bright Journey’ project in Yunnan has mobilized ophthalmologists to travel to Myanmar & Laos to perform free cataract surgeries for nearly 2000 less privileged patients. In 2021 Kunming Medical University worked with Mahidol University (Thailand) to launch Yunnan's first Sino foreign cooperative medical education program on nursing promoting ‘Cross Border Ethnic Health Cultures’. Chinese doctors also extended these efforts to bordering Bangladesh. In 2025 they partnered with University of Lorraine in France by establishing a Sino French medical college. Other than its neighbours & European partners, Chinese doctors have also served the African continent.  Doctors from Yunnan have been working with Uganda for more than 4 decades. Chinese doctors have helped Ugandan doctors to build a self reliant local medical force through teaching, surgical demonstrations & laboratory training etc. (Ref. Yunnan media).

The Air Health Silk Road

Sri Lankans should remember the ‘Daishan Dao’ hospital ship (the Peace Ark) (Peoples Liberation Army Navy type 920 ship) which sailed to help them & partners of the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). The C909 is China’s first internally developed flying hospital. It successfully completed its first onboard eye surgery in Laos last week. From 6^th to 15^th February it completed the first overseas public welfare medical mission in Laos. During the stay, Chinese doctors in the plane hospital provided mobile diagnosis & treatment, surgical demonstrations, medical personnel training, & medical supply donations to the people of Laos. The mission focused on screening & performing eye surgery & ear, nose & throat (ENT) related surgical treatments. The flying hospital’s seating capacity is between 78& 97. It has a range of 2225 KMs to 3700 KMs & is designed to operate at airports with short & narrow runways. Chinese medical assistance to its partners along the BRI could have been the wish of Hippocrates & Nightingale.

America's health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system - Walter Cronkite

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