The celebration, held via Bloemfontein National Hospital conference call, brought together the Cuban medical workers; the personnel director of the South African Ministry of Health and the Cuban Ambassador to that country, Enrique Orta González. Photo: pl
The Cuban medical brigades in South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho celebrated the 60th anniversary of the island’s internationalist medical cooperation this Saturday.
During a conference call at Bloemfontein National Hospital in South Africa, the Cuban professionals, led by the head of the medical mission to that country, Jorge Delgado Bustillo, expressed their will to continue working for the health of peoples, wherever and whenever necessary . .
The virtual meeting was attended by Victor Khanyile, Director of Human Resources at the South African Ministry of Health, who in his speech at the meeting expressed the gratitude of the South African people and authorities for the Cuban cooperation.
Likewise, he expressed the will of the South African side for the Cuban Medical Mission to continue its work in line with the will with which it was founded by leaders Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela.
Cuban Ambassador Enrique Orta González recalled how, over these 60 years, Cuban health professionals have provided services in the most complicated places where other professionals do not go.
Many have had the privilege of being the first physicians in indigenous communities; where they shared the often scarce food and medicines with their patients, he said.
“There is ample evidence that Cuban cooperation in this sector was not based on geopolitical and economic interests and was never subject to political conditions or blackmail of any kind,” the diplomat said.
“It has its basis in the vocation of solidarity of the Cuban people and in the noblest values that make up the intangible heritage of our nation. In a world shaped by selfishness, chauvinism, lust for power and individualism, you are an army of hope.
Virtual forum participants from all parts of South Africa reiterated their confidence that Cuban internationalism will endure over time.
Cuban medical cooperation with South Africa began in February 1996, when the first health collaborators arrived in that African country, making the Fidel-Mandela agreements a reality.
They were all in remote locations with precarious medical supplies, as ordered by the Cuban leadership. 73 doctors from this group of founders are still active.
From 2012, a new collaborative modality was introduced under the leadership of the Cuban Medical Services Marketer, under which healthcare professionals conduct deployments in South Africa for three years.
They were joined in 2020 by a medical brigade from the Henry Reeve International Contingent to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, of which 64 remain in the country at the request of the South African side.
The health cooperation currently consists of 213 employees, including the four heads of the medical brigade.
Since 1996, 1,548 Cubans have completed medical missions in South Africa.
Ghana values 40 years of professionalism and support from Cuban doctors
Cuban collaborators in Ghana. Photo: pl
“Since the start of Cuban medical cooperation in Ghana in 1983, we have never received a negative opinion about a doctor, and that makes me proud,” said Hafez Adam Taher, director of external cooperation for the African country’s Ministry of Health.
Taher, a doctor trained in Cuba, emphasized the professionalism of the specialists working in Ghanaian hospitals, where the criteria of their tireless work prevail. “It makes me hold my head up because I know what you’re doing in the hospitals.”
At the May 23 commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Cuban medical cooperation in the world at the Havana Embassy in Accra, the official reported that work was being done to increase the number of staff, currently 30, in support of other Ghanaian institutions.
He thanked the Cuban government, its diplomatic headquarters and the medical brigade for 40 years of work in the African country and for the opportunity to train professionals in Cuba, currently there are almost 300.
The Cuban Ambassador, Anette Chao García, stressed the importance of unity and maintaining work in each position despite the difficulties, pointing out that the collaboration also involved health technicians and the Labiofam group of companies with its antimalarial products. “Most of all, humility and working together,” he said.
On behalf of the medical brigade, Dr. Idael Cabrera Morales the commitment of the Cuban Government and the Cuban people to carry out the duty entrusted to them to the last moment and to uphold the name of Cuba and the Revolution.
“Today is a day of gratitude for the opportunity we had to be part of this great army of white coats making history across the five continents. The whole world knows the value and dedication of our professionals and we appreciate that,” he said.
Cabrera Morales reminded those who started the path of collaboration and the current challenge of continuing to bring quality, free health and hope before those who currently provide services. “It doesn’t matter where it is, the Cuban health experts will be there.”
dr Medical Brigade Chief Alicia Verdecia Charadán and other guests attended the event, which honored 24 employees.
Cuban medical cooperation began in Algeria on May 23, 1963 and since then more than 605,698 employees have provided services in 165 countries.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, 25,688 professionals are currently working in 59 countries.
Since the constitution of the Henry Reeve contingent by the revolutionary leader Fidel Castro in 2005, 88 brigades with 13,467 collaborators have been deployed in 56 countries. Three of them fought Ebola in West Africa with 265 employees, and 58 groups helped fight Covid-19 in 42 countries.
(With information from Prensa Latina)