Togo and China Join Forces for a Medical Revolution: The University of Lomé Gains Cutting-Edge Expertise
A new momentum is sweeping through the University of Lomé (UL). Tuesday, August 12, 2025, marked a strategic turning point with the signing of a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UL, represented by its president, Professor Adama Mawulé Kpodar, and the prestigious Xuzhou Medical University (China).
More than just a symbolic commitment, this agreement lays the foundation for concrete collaboration aimed at propelling medical training and research in Togo towards excellence, with a particular focus on crucial disciplines.
Birth of a Center of Excellence in Critical Care
The most resounding announcement of this partnership is the imminent creation of a School of Teaching and Research in Anesthesia, Resuscitation, and Emergency Medicine on the Lomé campus. This bold initiative addresses a critical need to strengthen capacity in managing life-threatening emergencies.
Professor Zhang Yang, Vice-Dean of Xuzhou Medical University, did not hide his enthusiasm during the ceremony: "We are delighted to partner with the University of Lomé to pool our knowledge and resources. This partnership will establish a school dedicated to anesthesia and resuscitation on the Lomé campus, an innovative project that will benefit both countries." The Chinese university, globally recognized for its expertise in these fields, will provide know-how and equipment, including state-of-the-art educational and health simulation tools.
A Robust Cooperation Architecture
The agreement, hailed by Dr. Anoumou Amékudji of the UL as a strategic step toward internationalization, is built upon four fundamental pillars: training, research, innovation, and governance.
It provides for extensive expertise sharing:
Joint research programs for shared scientific breakthroughs.
Intensified academic exchanges of faculty, researchers, students, and administrative staff, fostering mutual enrichment of practices.
A clear commitment to the intellectual property of research results, ensuring rigorous protection of innovations stemming from this collaboration.
Professor Kpodar, President of the UL, emphasized the scope of the agreement: "This memorandum is not just a document; it is a roadmap for the future. It embodies our shared commitment to innovate and offer our academic and medical communities unprecedented opportunities."
Sustainable Benefits
The establishment of a monitoring committee, notably including Professors Hamza Sama (Lomé) and Yang Zhang (Xuzhou), ensures the concrete application of the memorandum's ten articles. By associating itself with an institution of the stature of Xuzhou Medical University, the University of Lomé confirms its position as a major player in African higher education, ready to meet the challenges of modernization and to train a new generation of highly qualified healthcare professionals.
This Sino-Togolese partnership is a true historical milestone, marking the beginning of an era of medical innovation and excellence whose benefits will extend far beyond the campuses.