CUBA EXPORTING HUMAN CAPITAL

by Ron Ridenour --
(May 13, 2006. 15th in series.)

Cuba's constitution is based on "proletarian internationalism, on the
fraternal friendship, aid, cooperation and solidarity of the peoples
of the world."

In the nation's 2004 report to the United Nation's Millennium
Development Goals, adopted in 2000 by 189 heads of state, it
demonstrated that is had met three of the eight humanitarian goals
designed towards eliminating extreme poverty by 2015, and that it was
on track with the rest. Cuba's foreign policy is, in fact, based upon
the eighth goal: "Develop a global partnership for development".

Twenty-five thousand of the nation's 70,000 doctors and several
thousand other medical personnel are serving in 68 countries; a
similar number of teachers and technicians serve in a total of 100
countries.

Cuba is building a medical university in Venezuela. Over the last
three decades, it has built others in: Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia,
Uganda, Ghana, Gambia, Yemen, Guinea Bissau Guyana and Haiti.

In addition to providing health care and education, Cuban
collaborators assist 24 of the most underdeveloped nations with other
technical advice, aid to HIV victims, and sugar.

The export of "human capital", as the state characterises these
missions, is provided to individual recipients free of charge. In
most cases, the states, which receive Cuba's aid, pay in some form,
such as by bartering oil, other resources and manufactured products.

Cuba's commitment to serving the poor, the sick and victims of
natural catastrophes is a glaring contrast to the conduct of world
capitalism led by the United States and particularly its current
government.

A good example of this is how the governments confronted the damage
caused Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the surrounding area.
Cuba immediately offered to help save survivors with the specially
formed Henry Reeves International Team of Medical Specialists in
Disasters & Epidemics.

Fifteen hundred medical professionals committed themselves to assist
Katrina's victims. Each was equipped with 50 pounds of medicines and
field hospital equipment. These missionaries had an average of ten
years clinical experience and had served in 43 countries. The Bush
regime rejected their relief effort.

The Henry Reeves teams were instead sent to aid Pakistani earthquake
victims and Guatemalans affected by Hurricanes Stan and Wilma.
Seventy-three percent of patients hit by the Pakistan disaster were
served by these teams.

Most of the 2,500 doctors and paramedics serving half-a-year in
Pakistan have recently returned to Cuba after they had trained 660
Pakistani medics and turned over the 32 field hospitals they brought
with them.

The Cuban government also donated 241 tons of medicines and surgical
instruments, and 275 tons of hospital equipment.

Now 3,000 strong, Henry Reeves volunteers are required to speak at
least two languages and be competent in epidemiology.

This mission's namesake was taken from the United States Civil War
veteran who served in Cuba's first war of independence from Spain.
Reeves. a New Yorker, earned the rank of brigadier general. He died
in battle, in 1876, after having fought in 400 battles.

"Recognition of Cuban expertise in disaster preparedness and
response" promoted the UN Development Program and Association of
Caribbean States to select Havana as headquarters for the new Cross
Cultural Network for Disaster Risk Reduction, which is to facilitate
regional cooperation in disaster management, wrote MEDICC Review,
summer 2005.

"The world has never witnessed anything equal to this health
programme," commented San Vicente-Granadian Prime Minister Ralph
Gonsalves upon landing in Havana last February.

The state leader came to thank Cuba for having cured 1000 blind
citizens in yet another foreign aid programme, Operation Miracle.

Two years ago Cuban doctors began applying in 25 countries what their
associate scientists had created, a simple surgery which cures many
forms of blindness within two to three days. A quarter million people
have already been cured of cataracts, retractile disorders, corneal
leukoma, myopias and strabismus. Another six million Latin Americans
so affected are targeted for cures over the next decade.

Fidel Castro and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez have agreed to
provide funds, medicines and medical personnel to treat those
suffering from these eye afflictions, which are frequently caused by
mal-nutrition. Over one million Latin Americans are affected
annually.

Cuban medical missionaries carrying backpacks with hospital equipment
and medicines reach into the far corners of Latin America to perform
the surgeries. In the case of San Vicente-Granada, only a few
personnel can arrive in small aircraft at a time since there is no
international airport for larger craft. So, Cuba and Venezuela,
through their cooperative trade pact ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for
Latin America), agreed to build one.

Tens of thousands of blind patients not treated where they live are
transported to Havana for the surgeries. This programme is paid for
through ALBA. The largest numbers come from Venezuela but they also
come from the entire continent and the Caribbean. Poor blind people
in the United States may apply as well.

Many patients spend a short recovery in spacious top floor rooms of
the tall apartment building, Focsa, where I lived for four years.
Thousands more occupy hotel rooms previously used by the tourist
industry. As many as 1,650 patients received eye operations at 20
hospitals in one single day, August 20, last year.

Mission Robinson is Cuba's educational humanitarian programme for
hundreds of thousands of illiterates and out-of-school children in a
score of Third World Countries and New Zealand natives.

Besides providing literacy and further education, Cuba also provides
cultural and sports programmes. Artists and coaches impart their
knowledge and skills across the globe. It sometimes occurs that a
sport teams trained by Cubans compete with Cuban teams. The coaches
often feel double loyalties when it comes to which team they wish to
win.

In addition to the free solidarity aid Cuba provides to millions of
people in their own countries, it also offers free higher education,
emphasising medical training, to hundreds of thousands more at Cuban
schools. International enrolment in Cuban medical classes were more
than doubled from 2004-5 to 2005-6 classes. Thirty thousand students
from 30 countries are currently studying to become doctors, nurses,
dentists, allied health personnel and health psychologists.

Since the beginning of Cuba's revolution, its foreign policy has been
oriented to assist all Third World nations, especially Latin
Americans, Caribbeans and Africans to tear themselves away from
foreign domination, which keeps their peoples in poverty, ignorance
and ill health. The strong voice of President Fidel Castro has been a
beacon to many of these nations, which recently have been taking
heed.

The new and progressive-oriented leaders of Argentina, Brazil and
Uruguay, along with Paraguay, have formed the regional trade
organisation Mercosur, whose agenda is similar to that of the more
progressive ALBA, which now includes Bolivia. Mercosur adopted 32
projects, at the end of 2005, amounting to $4 billions to be
completed in the next five years.

It is noteworthy that Paraguay has joined despite strong protest from
the United States, which is seeking to impose its imperial trade
plan, ALCA, over both American continents. Paraguay's government has
otherwise been quite compliant in allowing the US to build military
bases aimed at threatening progressive Latin American governments and
the people's guerrilla movements in Colombia.

Yet another regional trade plan, CAN, covers the Andes area. Bolivia,
Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Surinam, Venezuela, even Colombia, are
members.

It is the hope of most Latin American leaders and people that
Mercosur, CAN and ALBA will eventually lead to the formation of the
United States of South America bringing an end to United States
imperialism in its "backyard".

.

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