Cuban Medical Internationalism Provides Medical Personnel to the Developing World
Cuban Medical Internationalism is the Cuban program, since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, of sending Cuban medical personnel overseas, particularly to Latin America, Africa and, more recently, Oceania. Cuba provides more medical personnel to the developing world than all of the G8 countries combined. The program was started by sending medical personnel to help support the anti-colonial wars in Algeria, Guinea-Bissau, Angola and other African nations.
When natural disasters strike, Cuba provides humanitarian efforts all over the world, including helping with the medical crisis in Haiti due to the 2010 earthquake. In response to Hurricane Katrina, Cuba prepared to send 1,500 doctors to the New Orleans where the victims were predominantly African-Americans, although the offer was refused by the U. S. government. While western governments appeared more focused on stopping the epidemic at their borders, Cuba lead the fight against Ebola in West Africa, according to an Oct. 2014 article in The Guardian.
