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A group of Cuban health experts arriving in South Africa on Freedom Day to help flatten the curve, means far more than meets the eye.
On Monday 27 April — Freedom Day — South Africa welcomed a group of 217 Cuban health experts sent to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and flatten the curve.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, on Sunday 26 April, announced that South Africa registered 4 546 COVID-19 cases and 87 deaths. The number of recoveries from the virus has risen to 1 473, with Gauteng accounting for more than half of the number.
Their arrival at the Waterkloof airforce base follows a request made by President Cyril Ramaphosa to President Díaz Canel Bermúdez of Cuba.
More than 200 Cuban health experts arrive in South Africa
The group of Cuban health experts, according to the presidency, consist of the following:
- Experts in the fields of epidemiology, biostatistics, and public health;
- Family physicians to guide interventions through door-to-door testing and to assist local health workers in health promotion and disease surveillance at the community level;
- Healthcare technology engineers to assist in maintaining the inventory, deployment and repair of aged medical equipment; and
- Cuban experts to provide technical assistance working with local experts.
Cuban ambassador to South Africa, Rodolfo Benitez Verson welcomes Cuban doctors at Waterkloof Airforce Base on April 27, 2020 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Cuba and South Africa share strong historic relations
In 2019, South Africa and Cuba celebrated 25 years of cordial, mutually beneficial diplomatic relations and constructive cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels.
The SA-Cuba Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Public Health and Medical Sciences has registered much success. Over 732 South Africans, many from previously disadvantaged communities, received their first five years of medical training in Cuba and have qualified as doctors since the inception of the Nelson Mandela/Fidel Castro medical training programme in 1997.
Many others continue receiving medical training in Cuba, and will also provide in the coming years much needed primary healthcare services to their local communities.
“The strong and historic relations between the two countries has seen bilateral agreements and technical cooperation in many areas, including Health, Human Settlements, Public Works, Infrastructure, Water Resource Management, Sanitation and Basic Education, among others,” said Ramaphosa.
The deployment of Cuban doctors, engineers and technical experts in all the provinces of South Africa rendering important services is a demonstration of the strategic partnership and solidarity between South Africa and Cuba and a good example of South-South cooperation.
