Juan Juan Almeida, 1 September 2017 — The Cuban government is making plans to send a team of medical specialists to the the state of Texas as soon as possible to offer aid to flood victims of Hurricane Harvey.
The government sent an urgent order to the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), which was later announced to the provincial branches in a videoconference headed by Dr. Marcia Cobas, a deputy in the National Assembly and Deputy Minister of Health for Medical Aid, International Relations and Information, as reported to Martí Noticias by sources close to the organization.
During the video conference, all provincial medical aid agencies were informed that the possible transport of a significant number of eligible Cuban aid workers to the Havana Convention Center, located on Vía Monumental and Cerrera Cojímar, for intensive training in preparation for personal interviews in September is under consideration.
A brief synopsis of the video conference was later distributed by email to MINSAP directors.
This is not the first time that Cuba has offered medical aid to the United States. In August 2005 the Cuban government created the Henry Reeve International Contingent of Medical Specialists for Disasters and Epidemics to aid populations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama affected by Hurricane Katrina.
In this instance, MINSAP plans to enlist eight-hundred aid workers from different medical fields capable of responding immediately to the demands of the affected population.
MINSAP has already prepared a list of 1,000 potential team members which includes specialists from twelve provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud. The provinces with the highest number of pre-selected physicians are Santiago de Cuba (230), Havana (160), Holguín (160) and Granma (110).
According to the report obtained by Martí Noticias, the professionals chosen are required to bring the following documents to the interview:
Medical diplomas as well as diplomas for specialized fields in which they hope to work.
- Curriculum vitae in English, with an emphasis on medical skills.
- Photocopy of national ID card.
- Photocopy of professional card.
- A photo in any format
“Attached is the transport plan, organized by categories and provinces. We must take all measures necessary to fulfill this task, which is of highest priority,” concludes the document, which was circulated by email and signed by Ovidio L. Alba Betancourt, head of SMC (Medical Services of Cuba), a branch of Central Unit for Medical Cooperation (UCCM).
Earlier this year, Cuban doctors travelled to Chicago to participate in an aid program in that city for at-risk communities with limited resources as part of a collaboration that will last for close to a year. Cuban doctors will focus their attention on maternal and infant care as well as the detection and prevention of cancer.
From August 14 to 17, specialists from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in collaboration with the Cuban Academy of Sciences, participated in a binational symposium in Havana to discuss approaches to vector controls for Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can transmit diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika.
