This mission follows the adoption, in March, of a decree authorizing the intervention of Cuban doctors in certain overseas territories, in order to reinforce local teams.
A delegation of 15 Cuban doctors arrived in Martinique on Friday 26 June, AFP learned from the Cuban authorities. This is the first mission of this kind on French territory. 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. The mission in Martinique, which will last two months, will serve to cover certain specialties including pneumology, infectious diseases, radiology or even emergency medicine, according to the Martinican authorities. These doctors will also be able to help fight the coronavirus epidemic.
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, has also experienced a real revival due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the latest figures from the Cuban government, the island has sent around 3,000 health professionals on temporary missions to 28 countries, including Mexico, the Principality of Andorra, South Africa and Qatar.
The program is harshly criticized by the United States and Brazil, which denounce in particular the working conditions of these professionals, of which a large part of the salary goes to the State. On Thursday, June 25, the Andorran authorities announced that two medical personnel from the Cuban mission refused to return to their country, to request political asylum in Europe. Cuba, which began billing the wealthiest countries for this service from the 2000s, earned $ 6.3 billion in 2018, making it one of its main sources of revenue.
