Cuba signs health agreement with SVG

Cuban Ambassador Olga Trias and Minister of Health Dr. Douglas Slater sealed the deal on a bilateral agreement to assist St. Vincent and the Grenadines medically.

At present there are ten health care workers from Cuba in SVG.{{more}} Dr Magda Cortina Licea, a specialist in internal medicine, is chief of the medial mission. There are also four community based doctors, three specialist nurses and two pharmacists.

Over two decades ago, under the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration, SVG established diplomatic relations with Cuba, which have grown from strength to strength.

Dr Slater made it clear that there are no plans to have 500 Cubans coming to SVG as some politicians have stated in the past few weeks, and implored people to desist from making such comments. He went on to thank the Cubans for the assistance over the past years.

Up to present over 2,000 Vincentians have been screened and have travelled to Cuba to undergo various surgical interventions, but the frequency of flights to Cuba has decreased.

Minister Slater said that the Government has spoken to Cuba about different ways in which they can ensure that Vincentians still get the treatment necessary. One idea that came about from discussions was to bring a team of ophthalmologists (eye doctors) to SVG. A team from Cuba came to check out the conditions and has given the approval to have the doctors in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for a few weeks to do the necessary surgeries.

There will still be the opportunity for the patients to go to Cuba for the more sophisticated surgeries. The Ministry of Health is encouraging anyone who hasn’t been screened, and thinks that they may have problems or just want to check out their eyes to keep checking the newscasts on radio to hear when the doctors will be in their communities. They are hoping that by late August the team of Cuban doctors will be here. The team is capable of doing about 20 surgeries per day.

Minister Slater said that the Cuba/ SVG collaboration has been a successful one and “we are today formalising the signing of that agreement which is still to some end an open ended agreement” – meaning that if SVG is in need of more medical personnel the Cuban government will cooperate.

The Cuban Ambassador has said that this is “the beginning of a very important interchange”. She added that Cuba has over 27,000 doctors all over the world, and so there are enough to cover the services in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but the doctors will be placed in order of necessity in the country. The Ambassador said that she believes this to be the start of a revolution in St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ health care system. (VM)