Cuba marks the 60th anniversary of its international medical collaboration

HAVANA, Cuba, May 23 (ACN) On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Cuba's international medical collaboration, Cuban authorities and organizations highlighted today the importance of this solidarity work, which has reached 165 nations around the world.

Miguel Diaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and President of the Republic, expressed on Twitter the pride of having in the country a dedicated force of health workers.

The head of state sent a warm hug to the protagonists of the feat of developing international collaboration for 60 years, and especially for those who fulfill that mission today: 22,000 professionals in 58 countries.

Also Manuel Marrero, Prime Minister, on the same social media transmitted the gratitude, recognition and admiration of the people to the health workers who day after day, in foreign lands, put the name of Cuba on high.

A PCC tweet highlights that it has been "doctors and not bombs" what Cuba has taken to the world for 60 years, as the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, summarized health collaboration in a speech delivered in 2003 at the University of Buenos Aires.

"The experiences have been extremely complex, sensitive, enriching, endearing... and we are very proud of the dedication with which they always put our medicine on high in the world," wrote the head of Public Health, José Ángel Portal, in a congratulatory message on the occasion.

Cuba's international medical collaboration began in Algeria, at the initiative of the Commander in Chief, on May 23, 1963, and since then, more than 605,000 collaborators in the sector have offered their services in 165 countries.

According to official figures, during these six decades, more than two billion patients have been treated as a result of Cuba's solidarity work.
A special page in the history of Cuban international medical collaboration is the Henry Reeve International Contingent of Doctors Specialized in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics, created by Fidel in 2005.

Brigades of collaborators of this Contingent were present after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and in the fight against cholera that same year; as well as in the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, Guinea-Conakri and Liberia.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, a total of 58 brigades worked in 42 nations to help control the impact of the disease, and recently, 32 Cuban collaborators made their contribution in Turkey, after the earthquake in February.