In the medical response to Ebola, Cuba is punching far above its weight

[AlaskaDenise]

In the medical response to Ebola, Cuba is punching far above its weight

......On Thursday, 165 health professionals from the country arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to join the fight against Ebola ? the largest medical team of any single foreign nation, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). And after being trained to deal with Ebola, a further 296 Cuban doctors and nurses will go to Liberia and Guinea, the other two countries worst hit by the crisis.

Cuba is, by any measure, not a wealthy country. It had a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of slightly more than $68 billion in 2011, according to the World Bank, putting it a few places higher than Belarus. At $6,051, its GDP per capita was less than one-sixth of Britain's. However, its official response to Ebola seems far more robust than many countries far wealthier than it ...../U]

Cuba's universal health-care system enables such an export. .....

Reuters reports that Cuba currently has around 50,000 health workers working in 66 countries...

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[Drakkonmax]

Re: In the medical response to Ebola, Cuba is punching far above its weight

Guess its a little easier to send folks when they don't have a say in the matter...score one for dictators I guess.

I don't mean to sound trite but I would wager that most folks when actually confronted with the specter of going into a hot zone get cold feet medical professionals are human after all.

 

[JJackson]

Re: In the medical response to Ebola, Cuba is punching far above its weight

Guess its a little easier to send folks when they don't have a say in the matter...score one for dictators I guess.

I don't mean to sound trite but I would wager that most folks when actually confronted with the specter of going into a hot zone get cold feet medical professionals are human after all.

I doubt that is the case. Cuba has one of the highest rates of MDs per head and has been sending medical teams abroad to disasters and build healthcare infrastructure for years. It is a major and very effective diplomatic tool form which they have generated a great deal of goodwill. I take my hat of to them, or would if I wore a hat.