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 17 February 2010
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Cuban health professionals are "absolutely" important for Haiti: WHO official

17/02/2010

The representative of the World Health Organization in Haiti, Dr. Henriette Chamouillet, says Cuban health professionals are "absolutely" important for Haiti.

Cuban doctors in Haiti

Cuban doctors in Haiti

Dr. Chamouillet, who briefed reporters in Geneva on the health challenges in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, notes that Cuba has pledged to send as many doctors as it possibly can if asked to do so.

The WHO representative says there were already over 400 Cuban health professionals, including doctors in Haiti before the disaster. After the earthquake, Cuba sent 1,300 additional health workers to the country.

In addition, Dr. Chamouillet points out, Cuba has been training Haitian doctors.

"Cuba is training Haitian doctors, roughly 80 doctors per year. And that is for years and years and years already. Three groups of doctors, trained doctors are already out of the university and practicing in Haiti. Most of them return to Haiti. Cuba is only keeping a few of them to train them as specialists."

Dr. Henriette Chamouillet says Cuban policy is to ensure that Haitian doctors who return to their country serve in the provinces where health care is most needed outside the capital Port-au-Prince and in other remote areas.

Diane Bailey, United Nations
(duration: 1'21")

Sound bites

Dr. Henriette Chamouillet, WHO representative in Haiti

"Cuba is training Haitian doctors, roughly 80 doctors per year. And that is for years and years and years already. Three groups of doctors, trained doctors are already out of the university and practicing in Haiti. Most of them return to Haiti. Cuba is only keeping a few of them to train them as specialists."
Duration: 23 secs

Dr. Henriette Chamouillet, WHO representative in Haiti

"They were 480 at the time of the earthquake... health professionals in Haiti, Cuban health professionals in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. After the earthquake Cuba sent 1,300 new, or other additional health professionals in Haiti. Most of them, they are in the province and they are absolutely important for the country. Absolutely."
Outcue: 26 secs

Dr. Henriette Chamouillet, WHO representative in Haiti

"They are at many places, many locations. There might be in Department Hospital, I mean one of the ten major hospitals. They might be also working, but not many, at university hospitals. And most of them they are working at health centres in remote places. So they are absolutely of utmost importance in Haiti."
Duration: 21 secs

Dr. Henriette Chamouillet, WHO representative in Haiti

"They have been in Haiti, the 400 and something, they have been in Haiti for a long time. They have been in Haiti at least for years and they going to remain. And Cuba has clearly said they are able to send the number of doctors we would like to have in Haiti. So, I don't see any reduction in Cuban doctors for the next weeks or months. As long as, I think, the international community is asking for them they will remain."
Duration: 29 secs

Dr. Henriette Chamouillet, WHO representative in Haiti

"They were selected by location at the time when they pass. You know to enter medical school you have to pass competition. You have to pass a competition for the national public health school but also to go to Cuba to study in Cuba. And one of the criteria was localization because most health professionals are located in the capital. And that is a huge problem for Haiti as in many other countries. So, due to Cuban policy and in order to improve the situation of the health service in the entire country, especially in the province, they made sure that the ones the ones that were accepted by Cuba came from the province and signed an agreement that they would return later on to the same province. So this is why we have not only Cubans in the province but also quite a few doctors that were trained in Cuba but are now in the province."
Duration: 58 secs