Cuban medical brigade in Antigua and Barbuda, 25 years of cooperation

HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 30 (ACN) A Cuban medical brigade has been working in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda for 25 years, is a shining example of South-South cooperation.

Yusmany Martinez Llopiz, head of this mission, recalled the beginnings of this program with only nursing personnel, but new medical specialties were incorporated in 2015.

In statements to the press, the doctor highlighted the implementation of Operation Miracles, which restored sight to more than 1,300 people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this medical brigade increased the number of collaborators, who were useful in these Caribbean islands.

Martinez Llopiz emphasized that today they are a multidisciplinary team made up of physicians and graduates in Pharmacy, Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology, Cytohistology, Orthopedics, Nursing, and Stomatology, as well as an electrophysiologist, all with a presence in key hospitals such as Sir Lester Bird, Clarevue, and Anna Thomas Hospital in Barbuda, and in community health centers.

The nurses work in almost all hospital services: Surgery, Maternity, and Oncology; in Hemodialysis, 37 %percent come from Cuba, and in ICUs, half of the medical team is Cuban, the source said.

Of the four doctors working on the island of Barbuda, three are originally from the Caribbean, and in areas such as Hematology and Cardiology, we have the only specialists in the entire country, he emphasized.

The healthcare provided by the Cuban Medical Brigade in Antigua and Barbuda is visible and highly valued for its high level of training, ethical principles, and humanistic vocation, as far from their homeland and families, they prioritize safeguarding human lives.