REPORTAGE
Mask on the nose, flag in hand, fifteen doctors get off the plane specially chartered for them. With a solemn step, they advance to the sound of their national anthem. This delegation of Cuban doctors landed Friday at the Lamentin airport near Fort-de-France in Martinique, to overcome the shortage of specialists and help the territory in the face of the coronavirus epidemic. It is a program that dates back to Fidel Castro, and which is experiencing a revival thanks to the coronavirus.
The export of medical services, one of the engines of the Cuban economy
Expected since the end of March, their mission will be to cover certain specialties such as radiology, hematology or infectious diseases, after a period of quarantine. If this is a first for France, the country becomes the third European state to receive aid from Cuba after Italy and Andorra. The socialist island has long established the export of medical services, which is one of the engines of its economy.
"What motivates me is the training I received in my country, with principles and values of solidarity, humanity, altruism and the desire to always help others," says Abel Roberto Fuentes, the head of this delegation.
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A lack of radiologists and pulmonologists
Help is needed, because Martinique is in dire need of specialists, such as radiologists or pulmonologists. Most of the new arrivals will be stationed at the hospital under the supervision of experienced doctors, a real relief for the director of the CHU Benjamin Garel. "During the Covid crisis, the round trips between the metropolis were very complicated. Many doctors were already requisitioned, so we had difficulties," he said. This Cuban delegation will therefore make it possible to "reinforce critical sectors such as resuscitation, infection, internal medicine and pulmonology", he explains.
The coronavirus epidemic has so far stabilized on the island (240 people infected since the start of the epidemic and 14 deaths), but doctors fear a further spread of the virus. Before working, these doctors will carry out a week of quarantine at the hotel to prevent any risk of coronavirus. In total, their 3-month mission should cost the community 300,000 euros, and the CHU is already looking to bring in other doctors from outside the European Union.
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2,000 Cuban doctors in 27 countries since the start of the crisis
This arrival follows the adoption, in March, of a decree authorizing the intervention of Cuban doctors in certain overseas territories (Guyana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Pierre- et-Miquelon) to strengthen local teams.
In total, nearly 30,000 Cuban doctors are deployed year-round in sixty countries, where they help complete the health network. This program, launched in the 1960s by Fidel Castro, experienced a real revival during the coronavirus pandemic: Cuba sent nearly 2,000 health professionals on temporary missions to 27 countries.
But it is harshly criticized by the United States and Brazil, which denounce in particular the working conditions of these professionals, whose large part of the wages goes to the State. On Thursday, two Cuban caregivers in Andorra requested political asylum in Europe.