Diabetes, tumors and liver diseases, the challenges to address, indicate Cuban doctors

Nestor Jimenez

Sent

Newspaper La Jornada
Monday, January 30, 2023, p. 4

Temixco, Mor., Before arriving in Mexican territory, Cuban doctors have already participated in collaborative initiatives in hospitals in various countries. They have worked in nations such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Guatemala or Pakistan, among others, indicated newly arrived specialists who will join one of the hospitals that are part of the IMSS-Well-being plan.

Two days after arriving from the Caribbean, they have been well received by their Mexican colleagues and are looking to work elbow to elbow to contribute to the medical attention of the population, expressed the dermatologist Ramón González Rodríguez, who arrived along with six other doctors.

After concluding an act headed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at the Enfermera María de la Luz Delgado General Hospital, in Temixco, Morelos, the Caribbean doctor explained that the group specializes in geriatrics, physiatry and rehabilitation, as well as in the area of ​​anesthesia.

Although they have yet to see their first patient, they are already clear about the challenges they will face in Mexico: When one comes to a place, for example in Morelos, one of the main diseases is diabetes mellitus, there are also malignant tumors and, above all, liver diseases..

Juan Andrés Echemendi, a specialist in geriatrics, also agrees that consumption habits in Mexico have affected the general health of the majority of the population.

Mexico is very different from Cuba because many sugars are consumed here that are not good, a lot of carbohydrates, and in the end this can lead to diabetes and it is one of the diseases that I see that is hitting Mexico to a greater extent. Even we drink a lot of unsweetened water, and the custom here is to drink a lot of sugared water, and that worries a lot.

At the same time, he stressed that we, as we do not have that custom, we see it alarming. At the hotel we look for water and there is very little, so we are concerned about that. They are lifestyles that must be changed, but it will take time for that.

For Diarislai Santiago Paz, a specialist in geriatrics with more than 20 years of experience, the task is not new. He recently was in Saudi Arabia on a health mission; meanwhile, Echemendi was in several countries of the continent with stays of between six months and two years.

We have always been where needed; where the people require the service of Cubans, we will be therestressed Santiago Paz.