The Government of Guatemala reported this Tuesday that the cooperation agreement with Cuba will conclude this year what he sent island doctors to the Central American nation.
The Guatemalan Ministry of Health indicated to EFE that The agreement, which had extended for almost three decades, will end during 2026 in a “progressive” manner.
According to the same source, a total of 412 Cubans are currently in Guatemala as part of the cooperation agreement between both countries, including 333 doctors.
The Cuban brigades that arrived in Guatemala as part of the agreement were usually assigned to different parts of the territory for the primary care of the local population.
“The decision responds to a technical analysis aimed at strengthening the sustainability of the national human resource and consolidating the capabilities of the public health system,” indicated the Guatemalan ministry.
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This same week, deputy Sonia Gutiérrez, from the left-wing Winaq party, warned that the decision “It can be an inhuman act that threatens the health and lives of the most needy populations” of the country, due to the historical importance of Cuban doctors for the medical care of Guatemalans.
That is why the legislator summoned, as the law allows, the authorities of the Ministry of Health to Congress to learn more details about it.
For his part, former human rights attorney Jordán Rodas Andrade recalled through his social networks that “for 27 years Cuban doctors have been the pillar of health in the most forgotten areas of Guatemala.”
Likewise, he stressed that “Ending this agreement is an act of ingratitude that leaves the most vulnerable helpless.”
The Government of Bernardo Arévalo de León indicated to EFE that “to ensure care for the population, a phased replacement plan will be implemented that includes the hiring of national personnel.”
According to calculations by independent organizations, The Guatemalan Ministry of Health has one of the lowest budgets in the region and its health system lacks personnel and the infrastructure necessary to serve the 18 million inhabitants of the Central American country.
