Over nearly 60 years, Cuba has saved lives in 164 countries

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel reiterated Friday that Cuba's health sector specialists have saved lives in 164 countries over nearly 60 years.

'The poor of the earth saved or treated by the more than 400,000 Cuban health collaborators in 164 nations over nearly 60 years: irrefutable truth against the slander of the empire,' the Cuban president posted on Twitter.

The president's message has as its backdrop the defamatory campaign orchestrated by the United States against Cuba's medical collaboration abroad.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro belittled and effectively expelled Cuban medical specialists who, under a tripartite agreement with the Pan American Health Organization, provided their services in that country from August 2013 to November 2018.

They treated 113,359,000 patients in more than 3,600 municipalities and provided permanent health coverage to 60 million Brazilians. In Cuba, 1,214 Brazilian students graduated in Medicine.

Likewise, in Ecuador, since the beginning of medical collaboration with this country, a total of 3,565 Cuban health professionals provided their services. There were 6,749,666 medical consultations, 212,360 surgical interventions, 3,548 births and 100,84 doses of vaccination. In addition, 153 collaborators participated in 'Operation Miracle,' a program through which 168,543 surgical operations were performed to restore people's sight.

As a result of the 'Manuela Espejo' Solidarity Mission, 825,576 people were treated, 35,257 of them in specialized neurophysiology and otorhinolaryngology consultations and 21,062 patients underwent clinical genetic studies. Also, 2,093 young Ecuadorians completed their studies in Cuba.

The Cuban Medical Brigade in Bolivia, made up of 54 percent women, included 406 doctors from 32 specialties such as Comprehensive General Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Ophthalmology, General Surgery, Orthopedics and Traumatology, Intensive and Emergency Medicine, Neonatology, among others.

In addition, 258 graduates in health technologies such as imaging, endoscopy, electromedicine, clinical laboratories, rehabilitators and nursing undertook outstanding work.

In these years of efforts, they offered 73,330,447 consultations and performed 1,529,301 surgical interventions.

They attended 60,640 births, applied 22,221 vaccines and performed 508,403 ophthalmic surgeries.

With the same disinterest and dedication, 35,613 health professionals from 138 countries have been trained free of charge in Cuba.