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| President of Cuba Raúl Castro declares ALBA_TCP Summit open |
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 fraternal 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 melting pot of Latin American and Caribbean cultures,
African blood flows through the veins of ‘Our America’, contributed by those
who fought for independence and helped in the creation of wealth in many of our
countries and others, the United States included.
Africa and Cuba are bound together by deep affection. Over 76 thousand
Cuban collaborators have rendered 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 thousand 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 that 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 alerts and concerns recently manifested over the
insufficient resources contributed and the pace of the 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 stand convinced that if this threat is not held back 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 gravest pandemics in the history
of mankind.
Actually, 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 called 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 integrating disposition is required, along with the proper
organization, planning and coordination, not only of the clinical and healing
work but also of preventive measures. An inescapable complementation to this
would be the systemic and permanent labors of the specialists who shall
exercise great
discipline and severity in the observation of the medical protocols
established. In the course of this meeting, we shall discuss the practical
features of this matter.
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 of cooperation that may help in training the 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 would agree, our healthcare collaborators
currently working in Latin America and the Caribbean, could support, to the
extent of their capabilities, the preventive actions and the training of local
personnel, as well as offer advisory.
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 many countries of our region count on
23,944 doctors graduated in Cuban universities until today, basically in the
past fifteen years.
Finally, on December 14th, we will host another Summit in Havana to
celebrate the 10th anniversary of 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 here today.
Without further delay, we declare this Special Summit open.
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