|
Key address by the President of
Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers Raúl Castro
Ruz, at the Special ALBA-TCP Summit on Ebola
Esteemed heads of State and Government, and chiefs
of delegations;
His
Excellency Mr. David Nabarro, Special Envoy of the
UN Secretary General;
Her
Excellency Mrs. Clarisse Etienne, Director of the
Pan American Health Organization; His Excellency Mr.
Didacus Jules, Director General of the Organization
of East Caribbean States, we welcome you to our
country on the occasion of this Special ALBA Summit
on Ebola, convened on the initiative of President
Maduro.
Ladies and gentlemen, comrades,
 A
dreadful epidemic is advancing today on our sister
peoples of Africa, and threatening us all. A high
number of cases have been diagnosed with Ebola and
many people have perished from the disease in
several countries, including two outside the African
continent.
This
poses a huge challenge to humanity, one that should
be met with utmost urgency. The action of the
international community as a whole, under the
leadership of the World Health Organization, the Pan
American Health Organization and the UN Mission for
Ebola Emergency Response, is much needed.
As
part of the forging of Latin American and Caribbean
cultures, African blood flows through the veins of
‘Our America,’ contributed by those who fought for
independence and helped to create creation wealth in
many of our countries and others, the United States
included.
Africa and Cuba are bound together by deep
affection. Over 76,000 Cuban collaborators have
provided health services in 39 countries, while 45
nations have had 3,392 physicians trained in Cuba
absolutely free of charge.
At
the moment, more than 4,000 Cuban healthcare
collaborators are working in 32 African countries
and, as our Public Health Minister will explain,
they are all joining in the preventive effort
against Ebola.
Last
October 1st, in response to a request from the
Director General of the World Health Organization,
Dr. Margaret Chan, and UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban
Ki-Moon, a specialized Cuban medical brigade
traveled to Sierra Leone to take part in the
struggle against the epidemic; and tomorrow,
Tuesday, October 21st, two other Cuban brigades,
whose leaders are already in the field, will be
leaving for Liberia and Guinea.
The
numerous warnings and concerns recently expressed
regarding insufficient resources contributed, and
the pace of actions, are a reflection of the growing
universal awareness on the necessity to move ahead
promptly in order to avoid a humanitarian crisis of
unpredictable consequences.
I am
convinced that if this threat is not detained and
resolved in West Africa, through an immediate and
effective international response, with sufficient
resources and coordinated by the World Health
Organization and the United Nations, it may evolve
into one of the most serious pandemics in the
history of humanity.
Currently, such a noble and urgent endeavor demands
the indispensable commitment and dedication of every
nation in the world, to the extent of everyone’s
possibilities.
We
are of the view that this grave problem should not
be politicized to avoid the risk of losing track of
the main objective, which is helping to confront the
epidemic in Africa and to prevent its expansion to
other regions.
Following my conversation with the UN Secretary
General last September 5th, instructions were given
to our representatives in events convened by the
World Health Organization and the United Nations, to
reaffirm that Cuba is willing work side by side with
every country, including the United States.
The
modest experience accumulated by the Cuban
healthcare system indicates that an comprehensive
view is required, along with the proper
organization, planning and coordination, not only of
the clinical and curative work but also of
preventive measures. An inescapable complement to
this would be the systemic and ongoing work of
specialists who can exercise great discipline and
seriousness in the observation of the medical
protocols established. In the course of this
meeting, we shall discuss the practical
characteristics of this issue.
In
order to avoid being affected by the virus, we
should prepare ourselves intensively, work together
throughout the Americas on preventive measures, and
be ready to deal with the disease and prevent its
dissemination.
We
wish to submit to the consideration of the member
countries of ALBA and the Community of Latin
American and Caribbean States (CELAC) some
collective proposals for cooperation which may help
in training healthcare personnel and designing and
implementing comprehensive and effective preventive
measures, giving a priority to Haiti and the
Caribbean countries. We should all assist the most
vulnerable states. At the same time, we invite the
countries of North America to also cooperate in this
endeavor.
If
the respective governments should agree, our
healthcare collaborators currently working in Latin
America and the Caribbean, could support, to the
extent of their capabilities, preventive actions and
the training of local personnel, as well as offer
advice.
In
summary, we have 45,952 Cuban healthcare
collaborators working in 25 countries of Our
America, 23,158 of them, that is, 50.4% are doctors,
who along with their colleagues from the continent
make up a powerful force capable of meeting such a
challenge.
It’s
worthwhile recalling that countries in our region
have available 23,944 doctors who have graduated
from Cuban universities to date, basically over the
past fifteen years.
Finally, on December 14th, we will host another
Summit in Havana to celebrate the 10th anniversary
of the Alliance, the fruit of the will of our
peoples in the region and of the actions of Hugo
Chavez Frias and Fidel Castro Ruz. We look forward
to that opportunity when we shall examine the
implementation of what we agree upon here today.
Without further delay, we declare this Special
Summit open. Thank you, very much.
|
