More than 600,000 Cuban doctors have provided services in 165 countries around the world since 1963. Currently, 24,000 Cuban doctors work in 56 countries.
April 17 (teleSUR) In his recent podcast, Desde la Presidencia, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez emphasized his pride in Cuban doctors working around the world, and emphasized that the training and education of health professionals is one of Cuba’s strengths.
The audiovisual program featured the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, and Dr. Carlos Ricardo Pérez, who currently serves as Secretary General of the Cuban Red Cross after completing several missions as a member of medical brigades in different countries.
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Díaz-Canel placed special emphasis in his platform on the campaign of hatred and discredit launched by counterrevolutionary elements from the U.S. and Europe, stating that it is only part of the Cuban far-right’s cynical plan to harm the country.
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Portal Miranda, who also referred to this abject campaign, highlighted that the recognition of Cuban doctors is an issue that bothers the US government and those who want to see the end of the Revolution .
Díaz-Canel emphasized that Cuban medical cooperation is provided free of charge, creating schools for the training of local human resources . This, according to the Cuban President, is an example of genuine solidarity and humanism that contrasts with the profit-driven nature of other healthcare.
For his part, Pérez responded to those who accuse Cuban doctors of being slaves, calling such statements disrespectful and offensive, recalling the Hippocratic Oath, which commits doctors to act with conscience and dignity, prioritizing the health and lives of their patients.
These smear and disinformation campaigns against Cuba are nothing new; they are part of a strategy to harm the export of medical services by defaming the achievements of the Cuban health system. As part of imperialism’s unconventional warfare design, they are used to create the necessary conditions for the long-awaited political transition or military intervention that Cuban annexationists have always desired .
Furthermore, the Head of State and the Minister of Health explained that the foreign currency generated by medical collaboration is primarily allocated to the Cuban healthcare system and public care.
Díaz-Canel emphasized that the Trump administration’s desperate campaign to block medical cooperation seeks to close off all avenues of income to Cuba and deprive other nations of quality health services .
Milestones of Cuban medical missions
During the podcast, it was recalled that over the years, more than 605,000 health workers (many have done so several times, but each mission counts as one) have cooperated in 165 countries, where they have provided more than 2.3 billion consultations .
There are currently more than 24,000 Cuban collaborators in 56 countries .
Medical cooperation also includes the training of more than 87,980 students from 150 countries , both inside and outside Cuba, including 31,236 at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), headquartered in Havana.
Honduran and Garifuna doctor Luther Castillo Harry , currently his country’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and a graduate of ELAM, also spoke during the podcast. He asserted that there is no doubt worldwide about the technical, scientific and human capacity of the Cuban health professional.
