BEIJING — China has awarded 29 groups and 59 individuals for their outstanding services in the country’s medical aid missions in other countries and regions.

An award ceremony was held earlier this week in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the Health News reported on Dec 21.

At the ceremony, Ma Xiaowei, head of the National Health Commission, stressed the importance of improving and strengthening the overseas medical aid program in the new era, the newspaper said.

This year marks 55 years since China sent its first medical team abroad for an aid mission in 1963. Over more than five decades, a total of 26,000 medical workers have been dispatched to provide services to 280 million people.