In late October and early November 1998, Hurricane Mitch hit various Central American countries.

The hardest hit were Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, in addition to others in the Central American area and the Caribbean, such as Belize, Haiti and the Dominican Republic the latter two also affected in previous months by Hurricane George.

At a meeting held in El Salvador on 9 November 1998, the Heads of State of Central America informed the world of the damage caused by Hurricane Mitch and the dreadful consequences brought on the region´s socio-economic infrastructure. The number of dead and missing people was estimated at over 30,000.

Central American Presidents then issued a communication containing seven measures aimed at requesting assistance from the international community.

Cuba immediately responded to such request and expressed its readiness to send all medical and paramedic personnel for as long as necessary, thus calling on all developed countries to supply technical equipment and medicines.

In light of the dire situation faced by these countries, our Government proposed and started implementing the Comprehensive Health Program for Central America and the Caribbean later on extended to various nations in Africa and Asia.

General Principles of the Comprehensive Health Program.

1-     The cooperation provided by the Government of Cuba is based on the free-of-charge supply of health workers, particularly General Practitioners, for a maximum period of two years.

2-     The health brigades render their services in rural areas not interfering with the work done by physicians in each country. A prerequisite is the presentation of documents endorsing the professional level of the medical personnel sent by Cuba.

3-     Doctors render their services to all the population regardless of race, creed or ideology, without interfering in issues of domestic affairs and respecting the laws and costumes of the countries they are working in.

Scope of the CHP.

The program is underway in 20 countries.

·        6 from Latin America and the Caribbean ( Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, Paraguay, Venezuela and Haiti )

·        13 from Africa (Burundi, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, The Gambia, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Democratic Arab Saharawi Republic and Zimbabwe)

·        1 in Asia (Cambodia )

Medical Missions are currently made up of 3 100 collaborators, out of which 2 303 are doctors, which accounts for 74,2 percent.

Cuban medical assistance covers 156 departments or regions and 6 893 rural communities in 20 countries. This covers 52 944 630 inhabitants.

Since this Comprehensive Health Program started, a total of 7 140 collaborators have rendered and still render their services.

Medical Assistance

Impact on Health Services:

·        Assistance to 92 community homes, 4 social institutions and 1 nursery home.

·        Medical assistance in 6 893 rural communities.

·        Starting  of 16 hospitals.

·        Opening of 160 new hospitals services thanks to the presence of secondary care specialists.

Achieved Results

Medical consultations.............................................27 704 408

Consultations of children under one......................6 801 066

Field Consultations................................................3 582 490

Deliveries...............................................................328 995

Administered Vaccines Dosis..................................5 185 410

Activities on health education................................4 218 785

Surgeries................................................................295 825

The presence and contribution of the Cuban health collaborators in these countries, particularly in the rural and most remote areas, have enable to save 435 583 human lives.   

Triangular Cooperation in the CHP

After four years since the CHP was implemented, the impact of such program is already well known and appreciated by the governments and population where the Cuban medical doctors are working.

Since the very beginning of the CHP, the Cuban Government urged those countries with most economic possibilities to supports this efforts, so as to create a real network of cooperation for the benefit of countries where this Program is being implemented.

In responding to this, the Governments of France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Order of Malta, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Greece, Turkey, Iran, South Africa, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Algeria and Brazil have stated their desire to work with Cuba in the development of the CHP, thus triangular cooperation project have been established.   

The CHP is also supported by 95 NGOs of different parts of the world. They work as well as there financial contribution; equipment and medical supplies are intended and allocated directly to the countries or places where the Cuban healths Cooperators are working.

The financial support provided by government, non-government organizations and international bodies, such as the WHO/PAHO, UNDP and UNICEF to the countries receiving this aid, as enabled the Cuban medical personnel to offer services of higher quality.   

Scholarship Program

Cuban approach regarding the formation of Third World's technicians and professionals has been of unselfish solidarity and cooperation, to the extent that Cuba in the eighties is the country with the highest per capita of foreign scholarships holders.  In spite of the difficult conditions imposed by the Special Period, continuity was given to the Scholarships Program, although to a lesser degree. 

In harmony with the steady political will to continue contributing to the formation of human resources from Third World countries, different means of cooperation have been established.  The application of the Comprehensive Health Care Delivery Program is among them, as well as the Latin American School of Medical Sciences was created as part of the Program.  Moreover, the International School of Sports and Physical Education was inaugurated on September 2000. On the other hand, the Plan of Scholarships directed to technical, economic and humanistic careers continued.

The scholarships granted by the Cuban Government include free of charge lodging, feeding and studies in equal footing with the Cuban scholarship holders