The Government of Dominica stated this Monday that it will soon announce changes to its Cuban medical mission worker program and highlighted its gratitude for Havana’s decades of support for the island country’s health sector.
“We recognize that we have to make some changes to the medical worker program and we appreciate that the Government of Cuba has kindly agreed to collaborate with us in our attempt to meet the new requirements for Cuban health workers,” Dominica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vince Henderson, said in his speech in Parliament.
In this context, the Dominican Foreign Minister emphasized the ties that have united them with Cuba through this collaboration of health services for more than three decades.
30 years of support
“I want to take this opportunity to thank Cuba for more than 30 years of support to the Government and people of the Commonwealth of Dominica by sending medical workers,” he stressed.
Henderson reported that there are currently about 65 Cuban medical professionals serving in Dominica, including doctors, specialists, nurses and technicians.
He also highlighted Cuba’s role in the training of Dominican citizens who later returned to serve in their country after graduating from Cuban medical schools, as well as Havana’s help in the creation of the country’s first intensive care unit and diagnostic center.
“We will always be grateful to Cuba. They have been true friends through thick and thin,” Henderson said, noting that Cuba provided support even during periods when it faced its own resource limitations.
Many Caribbean leaders reject the US blockade of Havana and the fact that the United States is pressuring them to end Cuban medical missions in their countries.
Vital
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Grenada, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago initially defended these programs, vital for their health systems, but later had to readjust their ties with Havana and make changes to the contracting terms.
In this regard, the Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, pointed out at the annual conference of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) that was held last week in Saint Kitts and Nevis that it is “important that the dialogue continues”, since there are several issues that must be discussed to “find mutual approaches.”
The US maneuver has drastic economic consequences, because the export of professional services has for years been one of the island’s three main sources of foreign currency income, with tourism and remittances, all of them affected by pressure from Washington.
The medical brigades, which started more than six decades ago and have taken 600,000 professionals to 165 countries, according to official data, are a controversial mechanism that combines advantages for the parties involved, but with questioned methods.
On the other hand, Skerrit assured that he felt encouraged by the meeting that the Caribbean leaders had with the Secretary of the Department of State, Marco Rubio, and that “it is important to highlight the positive aspect of their presence in the Caribbean.”
