FIVE years after the radioactive cloud caused by a nuclear accident spread over Chernobyl in the midst of the Soviet Union’s process of disintegration, the first Ukrainian patients, victims of the explosion, arrived in Cuba. They included many children who had been exposed to high levels of radioactive iodine and cesium 137.

In response to appeals to the international community for help, the Cuban government sent a brigade of specialists to perform preliminary examinations of the related medical problems and activated the hospital care system to admit children and young people with various affectations. According to Dr. Xenia Laurenti, deputy director of medical aid to the Chernobyl children care program – the main consequences were thyroid gland disorders, caused by the sudden exposure to high concentrations of iodine.

Since then, the multidisciplinary team made up of pediatricians, children’s gynecologists, psychologists, endocrinologists, cardiologists and general medicine specialists, has taken responsibility for the examination of each one of the patients.

"From the outset, these pathologies have been directly treated in specialized hospitals in the country, in the case of carcinogenic and hematological illnesses; or within the outpatient system when the illness is less serious and does not require the child to be admitted," says Dr. Laurenti.

MORE THAN 22, 000 PATIENTS ATTENDED IN 15 YEARS

This humanitarian program that Cuba designed 15 years ago has offered free medical attention to more than 22, 000 patients from the Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Armenia, Moldavia and several victims of a similar explosion in Brazil.

Twenty years have passed since the Chernobyl disaster and the children currently staying in the former Young Pioneer camp of Tarará on the eastern Havana coast, are receiving treatment for various medical problems that are very difficult to directly link to the nuclear explosion in scientific terms, according to Dr. Laurenti.

Elena Topka is a Ukrainian doctor whose son is also receiving attention in Cuba for his alopecia condition. She combines the functions of mother and professional in her treatment of all the patients. She accompanies the Cuban physicians on their rounds and, like them, keeps abreast of these children’s improvement.

"Sixty percent of children with dermatological problems like psoriasis, alopecia or vitiligo cannot be cured in the Ukrainian climate. However, in the environmental conditions of Cuba and the use of high-quality medicines such as Melagenina, Coriodermina and Pilotrofina, we have been able to achieve a 70% improvement in those affected by alopecia, for example," said Dr. Topka.

According to the Ukrainian specialist, the medical procedures used in treatment are well founded scientifically and the Cuban doctors have demonstrated a high level of professionalism and knowledge.

"There are still Ukrainian children in need of treatment. Many of them are orphans and no other country has helped us like Cuba," the doctor said adding: "After the disaster and under international political pressure, my country was forced to dismantle its nuclear development program; but nobody helped us, not even the nations that most criticized the accident. We were abandoned in our misfortune. Only Cuba has helped our people and has given my son hope of recovery."

Anastasia Zajaryk was also told in the Ukraine that her condition was incurable. She was born with deformed arms impeding any hand movement.

She traveled for the first time to Havana in 2002 and underwent several operations at the Frank País Orthopedic Hospital. Via surgery and the use of the external fixators pioneered by Dr. Rodrigo Alvarez Cambra, the bones of her arms have been elongated and she can already grasp some objects.

She is not talkative, perhaps she is shy, but in her stead her mother thanks the Cuban doctors that "made possible what could have only been achieved with a miracle in her country."

Anastasia learned to swim at the beach adjoining the hospital in Tarará. It seems incredible that with her small arms she could achieve that feat. But she has already proven that she can; now her dilemma is to decide whether her future will be dedicated to a Masters in Physical Education or if she will become a diplomatic representative of her country in Cuba.

As the 20th anniversary of the nuclear disaster approaches speculations on the magnitude of the accident are resurfacing. The World Health Organization and various NGO’s are reiterating the figures of those affected by radioactive contamination. While the statistics for thyroid conditions remain high, the explosion has served as a justification for various ailments that have no scientifically demonstrated link with it.