Last Updated on March 23, 2020, 7:09 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Cuba has said that it has sent a huge group of doctors and nurses to Italy to assist in the fight against coronavirus.
The group has been sent to Italy on the request of the region Lombardy which is the worst-affected region in the country.
Cuba has sent its doctors and nurses to assist at the disaster sites around the world, mainly in impoverished nations since the 1959 revolution of Cuba.
Cuban doctors were leading the defence in the fight against Ebola in West Africa and cholera in Haiti.
It is to be noted that this is the first time when the Cuban doctors and nurses have been sent to Italy in the state of crisis.
Mostly, Cuban doctors were sent to poor countries, but in this time of crisis, doctors and nurses have been sent to Italy, which is amongst the wealthiest countries in the world.
The medical brigade which has been sent to Italy is the sixth medical brigade which has been sent by Cuba abroad to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Cuba has sent contingents to other countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Grenada and Suriname.
Cuba built a healthcare system as the envy of the developing world, and it received financial aid from the former ally Soviet Union. However, some of the advances then made, have been lost ever since the communist bloc had collapsed.
Amidst the present scenario, several Cuban hospitals have fallen into a state of disrepair. Meanwhile, the Cubans say that they are facing troubles finding medicines.
The Government says that the situation is basically due to U.S. sanctions imposed on the country since the past decades.
However, some analysts blame the inefficiency of the Cuban economy.
Even after the sanctions and the inefficient economy, Cuba has one of the highest ratios of physicians per capita worldwide that too if those doctors who are abroad are excluded.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
