South Africa Increases Presence of Cuban Health Collaborators

The number of Cuban health collaborators in South Africa has reached today 210 with the arrival of a new group of 16 professionals, already distributed in five of the country's nine provinces.

The specialists arrived in the South African territory yesterday, and will work in Free State, North West, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, as medical services of Cuba, physician Alex Carreras, head of the Caribbean island's mission, told Prensa Latina.

"We will receive another 25 physicians" before concluding this month, with which this collaboration will continue expanding, Carreras said. The island's physicians has earned respect in South Africa, where there are great expectations about the work they are carrying out, taking into account the need of health professionals this nation has, he stated.

"The population here see Cuba as the health model to follow to move forwards and give a solution to their health problems," Carreras noted.

They recognize much "our contribution, help, the response in training physicians, taking into account that about 2,500 South Africans are studying medicine in Cuba," he stressed.

More physicians of the island keep on arriving in here to continue the long history of collaboration we have, which date from 1996, almost two decades, he emphasized.