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| Ronald Hernández Torres |
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“The solidarity of the Cuban doctors is something wonderful, they were the first to respond to the international call and I think that everyone must acknowledge their courage,” Sylvie Briand, head of the World Health Organization’s technical team on the Ebola crisis, said at a U.N. conference in Paris Oct. 31.
Above, Cuban health workers, attend Oct. 31 inauguration of U.S.-built clinic near Monrovia, Liberia, that they will staff. Cuba has sent 256 doctors, nurses and other health workers to Sierra Leone, Guinea-Conakry and Liberia, the West African countries hardest hit by the epidemic. Another 205 Cuban volunteers have undergone three weeks of intensive training and are waiting for needed infrastructure to be completed to join the effort. A total of 15,000 Cubans have requested the honor of taking part in what many on the island consider to be an internationalist duty. The Cuban volunteers have agreed to go to West Africa for at least six months. Leaders of the internationalist brigade pledged to stay until the deadly disease is defeated. World Health Organization officials have stressed that what is needed most are trained medical workers who can treat the infected and work with the population to implement preventive measures. The overall scope of Cuba’s commitment in this regard surpasses that of the rest of the world. |
| — SETH GALINSKY |