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Cuban doctors arrive in Liberia and
Guinea to fight Ebola
The
aircraft carrying Cuba’s contingent of doctors and
nurses prepared to join the struggle against Ebola
in Liberia, landed safely, according to the Reuters
news agency. Another group also arrived as planned
to the neighboring West African country of Guinea.
Jorge Fernando Lefebre Nicolás, Cuba’s ambassador in
Liberia, met the brigade, and reaffirmed Cuba’s
commitment is to improve relations between the two
countries, adding that the arrival of these medical
professionals signals the initiation of health care
cooperation between Cuba y Liberia, Al Jazeera
reported.
Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, Liberian minister of
Foreign Relations, said that he hoped Cuba’s medical
personnel would not only participate in efforts to
curb the Ebola epidemic, but also support
strengthening the health care system in terms of
training and attention to other pressing health
problems, according to Front Page Africa.
The
minister, in the name of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
and the people of Liberia, expressed their profound
gratitude and best regards to President Raúl Castro
and the Cuban people, for their help at this
critical time.
Liberian Health Minister Matthew Flomo, said that
the Cuban brigade -composed of epidemiologists,
intensive care and family medicine specialists,
surgeons, pediatricians, intensive care nurses and
anesthesiologists - would soon begin work with
Liberian units treating patients.
In
Guinea Conakry, the Cuban doctors and nurses were
met by the country’s ministers of Foreign Affairs,
Lounsény Fall; of Health, Rémy Lamah; and of
International Cooperation, Moustapha Koutoubou
Sanoh, who thanked them for their collaboration in
the battle against Ebola, reported guineenews.
Koutoubou Sanoh recalled that the country’s
relations with Cuba go back to Guinea’s independence
struggle and reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to
continue strengthening ties.
With the deployment of these contingents to Liberia
and Guinea, the number of Cuban medical
professionals in three West African countries to
confront the Ebola epidemic has reached more than
200. |
