'Fidel Lives in Those Saved by Cuban Doctors' Ambassador Says

Cuba's Ambassador to Canada Josefina Vidal took part in a virtual conference on the legacy of Fidel Castro, the leader of the Cuban revolution, which was held on the occasion of the 94th anniversary of his birth.

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“Fidel Castro is still alive in each of the lives that our doctors save. He is alive in any corner of the world where people say ‘Thank you Cuba’,” Vidal said.

When the world is going through the COVID-19 pandemic, the diplomat focused her conference on one pillar of Fidel's revolutionary thought and work: the human right to free health care.

She recalled that the training of solvent professionals and the establishment of an effective health system are the basic conditions for the real exercise of this right.

“Fidel led titanic efforts throughout his life to achieve this goal. For this reason, Cuba now has some health indicators that are higher than those of developed countries,” Vidal pointed out.

Thanks to the existence of 10 state-of-the-art training centers, Cuba has over 100,000 doctors, that is, nine doctors for every 1,000 inhabitants, which is the highest figure for this indicator worldwide.

Vidal also emphasized the role played by the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, which was created in 2005 and expresses "Fidel's visionary mind."

In recent months, this international aid team sent over 3,000 health workers to fight the pandemic in 40 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

“Fifteen years after the creation of the Henry Reeve Brigade, we continue to be moved by the expressions of respect and appreciation for our doctors in all the countries in which they serve,” the Ambassador said.

In 1960, Cuba sent its first health brigade to Chile to assist the population after an earthquake. Since then, over 400,000 Cuban health workers have provided services in 164 countries.