Cuba strengthens ties in the field of health and medical cooperation

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 15 (ACN) During the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Group of 77 and China taking place in Havana, José Ángel Portal Miranda, Cuba's Minister of Public Health, held meetings with representatives of Yemen, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Syria, where they discussed issues related to medical cooperation and training of professionals in the sector, among others of interest.

According to the website of the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap), in a dialogue with Dr. Ahmed Awad Binmubarak, Yemen's Minister of Foreign Affairs, both parties ratified their willingness to strengthen the ties of brotherhood and cooperation for the benefit of their peoples.

The meeting, which was a continuation of the one held at the end of 2022, during the Cuba Health 2022 Convention, Portal Miranda reiterated its willingness to resume cooperation in health care as soon as conditions allow it, as well as to continue supporting the training of doctors and specialists from that nation on the island.

Ninety-one Yemeni professionals have graduated from Cuban universities of Medical Sciences, and 31 are currently studying in the Caribbean nation.

This African country has a leading role in the history of Cuba's teaching collaboration in the field of health, since 1975 in the city of Aden, then capital of South Yemen, the training of doctors abroad began with the advice of Cuban professors and the use of Cuban curricula.

When speaking with Themba Masuku, deputy prime minister and senator of Eswatini, Portal Miranda ratified the Minsap's willingness to strengthen cooperation ties and achieve a greater impact with the work of Cuban doctors in his country.

The possibilities of collaboration in various fields and the effects of climate change on nations were also discussed.

Themba Masuku thanked the Cuban medical collaboration, which began in 1973. As part of this collaboration, 16 professionals have graduated in Cuba while 35 collaborators are providing their services in Eswatini.

During the conversation with Constantino Chiwenga, Foreign Minister of Zimbabwe, there was evidence of the mutual willingness to consolidate and diversify links in the health field, as well as to achieve a greater impact on the work of Cuban doctors in that nation.

In addition, they exchanged on the possibilities for increasing medical collaboration, continuing the training of human resources and promoting the transfer of technology in the field of the biopharmaceutical industry.

As part of the medical collaboration, which began in 197, 17 health collaborators, 11 of whom are doctors, are currently providing services there.

A total of 55 health professionals have been trained in Cuban classrooms, and six are now studying in Cuba, all of them as undergraduate medical students.

In an exchange with Kenan Yaghi, Minister of Finance of Syria, and the delegation accompanying him, the possibilities for developing mutually beneficial joint cooperation projects were discussed.

Collaboration in the field of health between Cuba and Syria dates back to 2003, when both ministries signed an Agreement on Medical Cooperation in the field of Health.

This document supported, among other actions, the encouragement of pharmaceutical exports between both countries and the training of Syrian health personnel in Cuba.

So far, a total of 119 Syrian professionals in different health specialties have graduated in the largest of the Antilles, and 51 students are currently being trained in Cuba, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

During a break in the G77 and China Summit, Portal Miranda held a brief dialogue with Mukhtar Ahmed, chairman of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, who thanked the Cuban doctors for their support when necessary.
Speaking at the plenary session during the first day of the G77 and China Summit, António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) acknowledged the success of the Cuban vaccines against Covid-19, which have not only been useful for the Cuban people, but also for other peoples of the world, victims of inequality.