Cuba will send doctors to Uganda

Antonio Luis Pubillones, ambassador of the Republic of Cuba in Uganda, offered statements to the newspaper The Independent, about some aspects of bilateral relations between Cuba and Uganda.

Bilateral relations between Uganda and Cuba

Cuba's relations with Uganda began on May 9, 1974, so we've had 45 years of relations between Cuba and Uganda. Our cooperation with Uganda has basically focused on health. Currently, for example, we have five Cuban professors based at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology. We were the first to assist the university. I wish we could do more to bring more Cuban doctors here. There is a signed agreement between the Ministries of Health of the two governments, but it is currently suspended. We are very willing to bring more Cuban doctors to work in Ugandan communities. The principle of our cooperation is about solidarity, friendship, love, and passion. It's about helping others prevent disease. It's about exchanging experiences between our doctors and those where we are.

Cuban doctors assigned to missions in Uganda

The Cuban doctors are ready and are just waiting for the Ugandan government to tell us when the time is right. The agreement is on hold. I know the Cuban doctors will be useful here. I feel proud when I talk about the quality of Cuban doctors. I've been working with our doctors for many years and I know what Cuban cooperation is all about. I know about the work ethic of Cuban doctors; I see them every day working, preparing, and constantly studying their experiences in the field. They do their work with passion and love. They don't work for money or financial gain; they work for principles, and this is the education they have.

“The United States is trying to denigrate the commendable work voluntarily performed by hundreds of thousands of Cuban health professionals and technicians over a long period of our history. But we don't fear the American scheme of slander because all the countries with which we cooperate know what our health professionals and nurses can do. We started our cooperation almost for free, but now we can't afford to do it, and some countries pay a good amount of money because of government-to-government agreements. Some of that money goes to the health workers, and some of that money goes to the government to keep the country moving; to address the needs of the Cuban people, the needs of children and the elderly, because Cuba has no other option. Cuban doctors don't go abroad to benefit the Cuban government; they go abroad to work to benefit the Cuban people and the people of the countries they work for.”

The trade relations maintained between Cuba and Uganda

"This is an area we're trying to accelerate. We've been working with private companies in the pharmaceutical sector for some time, and we believe we can begin further collaboration in the near future. We, for example, have many high-quality vaccines that we can supply to the Ugandan market. Those who are interestedcupMany Cuban pharmaceutical companies are very aware of Cuban products. In the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields, we are currently unsurpassed. We just introduced a vaccine against lung cancer that is now being tested and is yielding positive results. We have created vaccines against skin and prostate cancer, and our researchers are currently working on a vaccine for all types of cancer. We are focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry as a priority for our people.