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Speech by Bruno Rodríguez Parilla,
Cuban minister of foreign affairs, at the Haiti
donors meeting
New
York,
31 March, 2010
Mr.
President,
The
international community has a tremendous debt with
Haiti where, after three centuries of colonialism,
the first social revolution on the American
continent took place, an act of boldness that the
colonial powers punished with close to 200 years of
military dictatorships and plunder. Its noble and
hardworking people are now the poorest in the
Western hemisphere.
 We
all have the moral obligation to contribute
additional financial resources and greater
cooperation to Haiti, not only for its
reconstruction but, in particular, for its
development.
In
order to have an idea of the magnitude of the human
tragedy in Haiti, suffice it to note that the death
of 230,000 people in its small and high-density
population, is equivalent to the death of more than
30 million people in a country such as China, whose
population reaches a total of 1.3 billion
inhabitants; an unimaginable tragedy.
In
the wake of this devastating earthquake that shook
the conscience of humanity, we trust that the
numerous promises heard will be converted into
action, that Haiti’s independence and sovereignty
will be respected and ennobled, that the government
of President René Préval and Prime Minister Jean Max
Bellerive will be facilitated to exercise all its
faculties, and that it will be able to benefit, not
the whites and foreign companies, but the Haitian
people, especially the poorest.
Generosity and political will is needed. Also needed
is the unity of that country instead of its division
into market plots and dubious charitable projects.
The
program for the reconstruction and strengthening of
the Haitian national healthcare system, drawn up by
the Haitian government and Cuban governments, with
the cooperation of the
Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela and other countries and
humanitarian organizations, will guarantee wide
health coverage for the population, in particular
the low-income sector.
That
program is based on 101 primary healthcare centers
which are being created, at which an estimated 2.8
million patients will be treated, 1.3 million
emergency operations performed, 168,000 babies
delivered, and 3 million vaccinations administered
every year.
These health centers will be supported by the
services of 30 community reference hospitals
distributed throughout the country and equipped with
cutting-edge technology for secondary attention,
which can treat 2.154 million people per year,
perform 54,000 operations – 1 million of these
emergency surgery –, 276,000 electro-cardiograms,
144,000 diagnostic ultrasounds, 43,000 endoscopies,
181,000 X-Rays, 107,000 dental examinations, and
487,000 laboratory tests.
Given the extraordinary number of poly-traumatized
patients, 30 rehabilitation rooms are likewise being
equipped which, within 12 months, will provide
services for 520,000 patients and 2.4 million
therapeutic treatments.
There will also be three electromedicine centers, a
prosthesis laboratory and an integral hygiene and
epidemiology program.
Also
planned is a Haitian National Specialties Hospital
at tertiary level, involving cooperation from other
countries, directed by 80 high-level Cuban
specialists responsible for services and clinical
departments, research and teaching, and Haitian
professionals who will be trained at the institution
and progressively replace the Cuban medical
professors.
The
cost of the already mentioned services will amount
to $690.5 million over 10 years, a total that
includes the medical services provided, calculated
at 50% of international prices; the sustainability
of these services and the personnel providing them;
and the training of a further 312 Haitian doctors in
Cuba.
As
can be deduced, the approximate cost is $170 million
per year for a country of approximately 9.33 million
inhabitants.
It
is possible to do this. Our practical experience
confirms it. In fact, this program is already
underway and, post-quake, 23 of these primary care
health centers, 15 community reference hospitals and
21 rehabilitation rooms are up and running.
From
almost immediately after the earthquake, Cuban
specialists have been dedicating their attention to
the population affected. To date they have seen
260,000 patients, performed more than 7,000
operations, delivered close to 1,400 babies, and
administered close to 100,000 vaccinations. More
than 50,000 patients have undergone rehabilitation
therapy and more than 75,000 children have received
psychosocial therapy, in the presence of some of
Cuba’s most eminent professionals.
A
total of 783 Cuban and 481 Haitian doctors, plus 278
health professionals from 28 countries – all of them
graduated in Cuba – are working on this program.
Last
Saturday [March 27], as part of the program
outlined, a memorandum of understanding for the
strengthening of the healthcare and public services
system and epidemiological prevention was signed in
Port-au-Prince, thanks to the will of the Haitian
government and a significant contribution from
President Lula and Brazil, which will be decisive
for the planned healthcare program.
During the 11 years of work prior to the earthquake,
the Cuban medical brigade, which has a presence in
127 of the 137 Haitian communes, saved 223,442
lives, treated 14 million people, performed 225,000
operations and delivered 109,000 babies. Via the
Operation Miracle program, 46,000 Haitians have had
their sight restored or improved. During the same
period, 165,000 Haitians have become literate in
Creole.
If
we evaluate the medical services provided in these
11 years and the training of medical personnel in
Cuba, it would represent $400 million throughout the
period.
The
medical program that we are proposing, in its
entirety, will benefit 75% of the poorest population
of the country at a minimum expense.
We
invite all governments, without exception, to
contribute to this noble effort. For that reason, we
attribute particular importance to this conference,
and aspire to its success.
Thank you very much.
Translated by Granma International
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