NANCHANG, Nov. 1 -- Two medical teams set sail Friday from east China's Jiangxi Province bound for Tunisia and Chad on medical assistance missions, according to the provincial health commission.

A total of 44 medical staff from local hospitals and medical institutions will head to Tunisia and Chad on a one-year mission.

The health commission said more than 1,200 medical staff including experts have been sent to the two countries over the past 46 years.

They provided outpatient services for local residents, performed about 330,000 operations and rescued 63,000 critically ill patients during the period.