Cuban Doctors Saving Thousands in Zimbabwe

HAVANA, Cuba. The work of Cuban health professionals making their contribution in Zimbabwe has saved more than 300,000 lives in this African country since 1998.

According to Prensa Latina news agency, Dr. Emiliano Diez Martinez, head of the Cuban medical brigade, said that in the last 11 years 700 Cuban health professionals have treated more than eight million patients in Zimbabwe.

Diez Martinez added that Cuba's internationalist cooperation in Zimbabwe began in the early 1980s and continued in 1998 as part of an Integral Health Program. During this time, Cuban doctors have performed 200,000 surgeries in the last ten years.

Currently, there are 118 Cuban health professionals in Zimbabwe, including specialists in Integral General Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Gynecology and Obstetrics.

He noted that the Cubans are spread out in the country's 11 provinces and in certain occasions, such as in 2008, they have nearly completely assumed the medical attention of the national health system.

(Encomiable labor de los médicos cubanos en Zimbabwe)

Zimbabwe's President Says Cuba's Cooperation Is Very Important

HAVANA, Cuba, April 24 (acn) Zimbabwean President Robert G. Mugabe, recently stressed the importance of Cuba in the training of human resources for his country in fields like education and health, among others.

In a meeting Thursday with the Cuban ambassador to Zimbabwe, Cosme Torres Espinosa, Mugabe said he appreciated the presence of a medical brigade of 134 health experts from the island, who are currently working in a cooperation project under the Comprehensive Health Program of his country.

The statesman recalled his last visit to Cuba in 2007 and expressed his admiration for Cuban programs such as the Latin American Medical School and Operation "Miracle", which has restored the vision to thousands of peoples around the world.

The Zimbabwean leader conveyed his greetings to Comrade Fidel Castro and thanked President Raul Castro for his message on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the independence of Zimbabwe.

At President Mugabe's request, the Cuban ambassador briefed him on the present state of the Cuban economy, the progress achieved after the island was hit by three devastating hurricanes last year and the state of Cuba's relations with Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States.

(Resalta Presidente Robert G. Mugabe validez de la colaboración civil en
Zimbabwe)

Zimbabwe’s Health Minister Highlights Cuba Medical Cooperation

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 26 (acn) Cuba’s aid is well known and acknowledged by
everybody, said Zimbabwe’s Health and Child Welfare minister Henry
Madzorera in reference to the Health Comprehensive Program being
developed in that country by 130 Cuban medical doctors.

Madzorera made his statements during a meeting with Cuban ambassador to
Zimbabwe Cosme Torres Espinosa. Both officials reviewed ongoing
bilateral relations in the field of health, according to a press release
by the Cuban embassy in Zimbabwe.

Ambassador Torres Espinosa paid a courtesy visit to the Zimbabwean
government official in the context of his appointment as new Health and
Child Welfare minister.

During the talks, the Cuban ambassador ratified his country’s commitment
to keep boosting cooperation with the African nation despite the
economic difficulties facing Cuba.

(Destaca funcionario de Zimbabwe asistencia medica cubana)

Cuban Doctors Commit to Help Zimbabwe Face Cholera Epidemic

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 9 (acn) A brigade of Cuban doctors working on a collaboration program in Zimbabwe have committed themselves to help the country overcome a cholera epidemic that has taken a toll on nearly 600 people.

The brigade, made up of 134 health specialists, responded to a call made by the Zimbabwean government to face the scourge, reports the Prensa Latina news agency.

In a statement released in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, the Cuban doctors said they are willing to do their regular job in the hospitals and work against the epidemic as well.

Zimbabwe is one of 30 African countries in which Cuban doctors are serving in national, provincial or district hospitals, and are also helping in the struggle against cholera, said Cosme Torres, Cuban ambassador to that nation.

The World Health Organization has warned the world about the possibility of a disaster due to cholera's high infectious level in this country.

According to that international organization, 575 people have died from cholera and another 13,000 are infected, while the epidemic is threatening to extend to neighbouring countries, as some cases have been recorded in South Africa and Botswana.

Redoblan médicos cubanos labor humanitaria en Zimbabwe