The Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) from Cuba and its counterpart from Barbados signed a new Cooperation Agreement in the city of Bridgetown that, among other points, establishes the permanent presence of a brigade cuban doctor in the small Caribbean nation.
This brigade would be made up of medical specialists in various areas, nursing and laboratory personnel who will be stationed in health centers throughout the island, according to a report from the agency Latin Press (PL).
The media reports that the Barbadian authorities showed their interest in developing work ties with Cuba in the sector of Health as a result of the work carried out in the country by the Henry Reeve International Contingent, specialized in dealing with epidemics and disaster situations, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since his arrival at Barbados in 2020, the 126 specialists of this group played an important role in controlling the disease in the Alpha and Delta variants, hence they were recognized with the Humanitarian Award, granted on the occasion of Heroes’ Day in 2022, adds the agency .
The bilateral Cooperation Agreement signed now was signed by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Barbados, Janet Phillips; and the Cuban ambassador, Sergio Jorge Pastrana, on behalf of the MINSAP.
Sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex) of Cuba pointed that the professionals who currently make up the Henry Reeve brigade deployed in Barbados will finish their work early next month, after successfully fulfilling their mission in that nation, which only reported seven deaths from COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic.
Since a medical brigade traveled to Algeria in 1963, Cuba has displayed extensive cooperation in this field, which intensified as of 1998, with the sending of specialized personnel to Central America, after the disasters caused by hurricanes Mitch and George .
Then, after the creation of the Henry Reeve International Contingent in 2005, 88 medical brigades from the Island have been deployed in different parts of the world, while another 58 have been dedicated in recent years to combating the COVID-19 pandemic in 42 countries. .
In accordance with MINSAP sourcesCurrently, Cuban health professionals provide collaboration in 58 nations, a force that totals more than 26,000 specialists.
