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Cuban doctor attends to a humble municipality in Brazil. Photo: EFE, from Telesur.
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
This week, with support from every member country except the United States, Cuba joined the executive committee of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and made a commitment to continue supporting south-to-south medical collaboration.
Cuba’s approach to medical internationalism and solidarity has long been an inspiration to our work at the Platform. It serves as an entry point to many important and complicated questions: What does it mean to create international relations based on solidarity and care? What are the implications of basing an economic model around the provision of care? And – what motivates or should motivate a healthcare worker?
Cuba sent its very first international brigade abroad in 1960. Since then, it has sent over 130,000 medical personnel abroad on aid missions, primarily to the Global South. In 2005, the country commissioned a new volunteer brigade of emergency responders, which then-President Castro offered to the U.S. to aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The U.S. declined the offer, but the brigade has gone on to help mitigate extreme crises in 21 other countries, including in Haiti after the earthquake and ebola outbreak.
As we’ve reported in this newsletter, Cuba has mobilized hundreds of medical professionals this year to help contain and treat COVID19 in over 20 countries; attracting the ire of the U.S. administration, which has sought to paint the missions in a negative light. This week, after the latest COVID19 figures, we highlight Cuba’s collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Brazil, and re-share several of our favorite interviews with Cuban doctors.
Please note Caring in Crisis is transitioning from a weekly to a biweekly newsletter – you will see us in your inbox again on October 16!
Take Care – Sarah, Justine, Mariakarla
Cuba and Covid-19
Cuba ended its 29th week of the battle against COVID-19 with a 10% decrease in cases compared to the previous seven days. On Wednesday, the governor of Havana announced that the city is lifting the curfew and partial lockdown that was put in place on September 1 to contain a second wave of cases. Today, the Ministry of Public Health reported 48 new cases for a 7-day average of 46.86 and a total of 5,718 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. In regards to re-opening and education, the next academic year for universities is now proposed to start on February 1, 2021, and several provinces have reported that – despite the many complications imposed by the virus – the current K-12 school year maintains good quality and safety.
Cuba and PAHO
This Monday, Cuba’s Minister of Public Health reiterated his country’s commitment to strengthen international cooperation and solidarity in the face of the global COVID-19 crisis. The following day, the country celebrated the news that Cuba was elected to the Executive Committee of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for a three-year term, with the support of every member state except the U.S. Earlier this summer, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attacked Cuba’s Henry Reeve Brigades, calling Cuban doctors “slaves”; questioned PAHO’s involvement in facilitating Cuban medical solidarity; and threatened to cut the international organization’s funding.
The program under scrutiny, Mais Médicos (More Doctors), began in 2013 as a trilateral cooperation between Brazil, Cuba, and PAHO in order to bring more doctors to underserved areas in Brazil. In 2015, PAHO heralded it as “a prime example of South-South cooperation with potential application to other member states whose health needs are not being met.” The program was cancelled in 2018 by Brazil’s right wing president Jair Bolsonaro, leaving many Cuban doctors who had settled and started families in Brazil stranded without work. However, the doctors were re-authorized this year to assist in the fight against COVID19 in Brazil, which has experienced the world’s second worst outbreak of the coronavirus.
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Our short film reveals the daily life of a Cuban doctor – and the true motivations for her work.
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In this clip by our friends at Belly of the Beast, Cuban doctors react to the accusation that they are “slaves.”
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About this newsletter: The Caring in Crisis newsletter began March 20 and goes out in both English and Spanish every other Friday (please alert us if you wish to switch language subscriptions). You can always return to past issues here. Please drop us a note anytime to let us know what you’d like to see more of and to share updates related to crisis-response, creativity and resilience from your corner of the world. We would love to hear from you.
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