Cuban ambassador visits the province
Some 120 medical students from the province will be leaving for Cuba for training before the end of the year.
POLOKWANE – Some 120 medical students from the province will be leaving for Cuba for training before the end of the year.
This was according to premier Stanley Mathabatha, who added that close to 1 400 South African students were currently studying medicine at Cuban universities and 320 doctors who had graduated in Cuba were now working in various hospitals in South Africa.
He also mentioned that there were at least 10 Cuban doctors currently employed by hospitals in the province.
Mathabatha was speaking during a visit by Cuban ambassador, Carlos Fernandez de Cassio to the province last week. The visit served as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between Limpopo and Cuba.
During his visit, health MEC Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba accompanied De Cassio on a visit to several hospitals in the province.
These included hospitals in Polokwane and Tshilidzini. This was followed by a lecture given by De Cassio at the University of Venda.
De Cassio said he felt at home in Limpopo as the climate and landscape were so close to that of Cuba.
He said he was proud of the progress through solidarity between Limpopo and Cuba, as well as the rest of South Africa, which he would be visiting in the near future.
Asked about allegations that Cuban-trained doctors were not trained properly, De Cassio said the proof of the qualifications of Cuban-trained doctors was in the 17 years they had spent to date in practising successfully.
