The President of MexicoClaudia Sheinbaum, confirmed Monday that His government will keep the cooperation agreement with Cuba in force so that Cuban doctors work in hospitals and public health centers in the country.
This program was initiated by the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024) with the aim of covering the lack of specialized personnel, he said EFE.
“We have collaboration with Cuba on several issues. Cuban doctors are going to continue, it is an established agreement, it has everything in order and we will continue with that,” said the president at her morning press conference.
Sheinbaum said that from next year he will seek to expand collaboration to implement a joint program for the treatment of the diabetic foot.
He stressed that Cuba has a medication and a medical protocol that, they said, have had great success in the prevention of amputations.
“In particular on this issue we will have greater collaboration with Cuba because it is the only country that has this medicine and that has many results,” he added.
Claudia Sheinbaum and support for Cuban doctors
The President He insisted that the hiring of foreign doctors does not displace nationalsbut responds to the accumulated deficit for years.
“No Mexican doctor is replaced, none, the problem is that Mexico stopped graduating medical specialists for too many years,” he said.
He also stressed that Cuban professionals mainly support rural areas and marginalized communities: “They are very good doctors, who are graduated and are willing to come to Mexico to the most remote places. We have the obligation to serve everyone.”
Sheinbaum said that, as Mexico manages to form enough specialists, it will stop resorting to foreign doctors.
In 2024, under the government of López Obradoran agreement was signed that allowed the arrival of 2,700 Cuban doctors to the country.
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), Mexico has 2.4 doctors per thousand inhabitants, a figure higher than the regional average of 2, but still below the average of 3.5 established by the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The president recalled that during the “neoliberal period” the entry of medical students in universities was reduced, which limited the training of specialists.
However, he assured that the number of residents in the country has already been tripled, from 5,999 in 2011 to 18 799 in 2025.
