Mandela-Castro ideal lives on with Covid-19 assistance
Mpumalanga officially welcomed 13 Cuban medical doctors and medical personnel last Thursday to assist in tackling the dreaded Covid-19 coronavirus that has devastated numerous countries across the world, including South Africa.
The 13 medical personnel will be distributed throughout hospitals in the three districts of Ehlanzeni, Nkangala and Gert Sibande.
According to the MEC for health, Sasekani Manzini, who officially welcomed the delegation, “Cuban revolution dictates that when there is a crisis in the world, its doctors are sent out to go and save lives. We are delighted that today, in our beloved South Africa, which is ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, we welcome the Cuban health professionals.
“It is worth noting that Cuba is a socialist country and those of us who believe in the socialist ethos taught by Karl Marx, that ‘each according to their needs’.
This is important to understand the human spirit that guides the people of Cuba. Healthcare in Cuba is provided to everyone who needs it and is not driven by profit-making.
The capitalist way of doing things has dehumanised us as profits come before life, thus in our country, the depth of your pockets determines the quality of healthcare one receives.
“We struggle to keep the best doctors in the public sector, because many of our fellow doctors, upon graduating, go and open private practices because of the two health systems in our country that are mainly class-based – the haves and the have-nots.
This is the spirit of capitalism that we have to deal with. This is not the case in Cuba. These men and women we are welcoming today take medicine and other related health fields and train to become health professionals because they want to serve humanity and provide quality healthcare to those who need it.
“Human life is one of the precious things and needs to be preserved at all costs, and these revolutionaries are driven by this human spirit and the love of their people and humanity in general,” she stated.
The SA-Cuba Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Public Health and Medical Sciences has registered much success. More than732 South Africans, many from previously disadvantaged communities, received their first five years of medical training in Cuba and have qualified as doctors since the inception of the Nelson Mandela/Fidel Castro medical training programme in 1997.
The Cuban health system is based on the Primary Health Care (PHC) model and focuses on primary health care to prevent diseases from occurring in the first place by use of the prevention-rather-than-cure model.
This system has yielded massive gains for the people of Cuba and their quality of life. This healthcare system is free, thus thousands of people flock into Cuba to receive it.
“The National Health Insurance is also modelled according to the PHC model implemented in the country, and seeks to provide universal health coverage for all.
The medical personnel are here not to take charge of our healthcare facilities and intervention in the fight against Covid-19. Instead they are here to support us in our fight against it.
“Thus, I call on all departmental officials who are going to be hosting these great treasures to treat them with humility, care and respect, for they are here to assist us in our fight with this pandemic and not to steal our jobs or anything of that sort.
We are in a fight against this virus and all the necessary help should be welcomed with open arms. I appeal to everyone in the Department of Health to create a conducive working environment for these healthcare workers who are here to help us.
“They left their homes and beautiful country to be of service to us and the least we can do is to welcome them with open arms.
I must say that we also have some of our doctors who went to Cuba to acquire medical knowledge, and we continue to send our students to study medicine there.
You are all home here; we really would like to send our warm and revolutionary gratitude to you for coming to serve our people in this province and we know our people are in good hands.
“We will try by all means to make sure that you are taken care of and that you create great memories of your stay in here, and take good stories back to Cuba on how you saved lives and arrested the spread of this virus in South Africa.
Your service to humanity brought you here as per the directives of Comandante Fidel Castro, who said that people will not die anywhere in the world for as long as Cuba and her doctors are available, and for your service to humanity, not restricted by borders. So this is home away from home,” she concluded.
