Cuba Hosts Regional Summit on Ebola
October 22, 2014
HAVANA. — Heads of state and government and representatives of countries that make up the regional integration bloc Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas-Treaty of Commerce for the Peoples (ALBA-TCP), gathered in the Cuban capital Havana on October 20 to address a joint contribution to the prevention and fight against Ebola, an epidemic currently affecting West Africa.
The summit, according to the official daily Granma, was held to co-ordinate Ebola-fighting activities in West Africa and prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean.
ALBA includes Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Saint Lucia. Grenada and St Christopher and Nevis agreed to join the bloc; Suriname is an observer.
Venezualan president Nicolas Maduro said, “We ALBA countries have the most protected and powerful healthcare systems in Latin America,” Maduro said during a local healthcare event at the Teatro Nacional in Caracas. “We will have a special meeting to co-ordinate all knowledge and work protocols.”
Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the UN for Ebola, David Nabarro who was among the participants pointed out that it was an honour for him to attend the ALBA-TCP, while he thanked Cuba for its extraordinary contribution of sending health professionals to West Africa.
He hoped that other nations would provide support to address this epidemic and emphasised the willingness of Cuba to work and collaborate with other countries in the region.
The meeting was also attended by the director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Carissa Etienne. PAHO discussed how to strengthen regional efforts in order to prevent the disease from spreading throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Etienne believes that Latin American countries are ready to address Ebola, although she assured that the probability of Ebola reaching Latin America was very low.
“Our objective in this area is to assure ourselves that we can detect the first case as quickly as possible. We need to take the necessary measures to prevent the transmission of the disease,” stressed Etienne.
Etienne also celebrated the Cuban government’s decision to send 400 medical brigades to Sierra Leone stating that, “this is an example of what a small country can do to help other nations.”
In Haiti, the PAHO issued a joint statement with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to address rumours that Ebola had reached the island nation.
“It is worrying to see the growing number of unfounded rumours, which suggests that the virus of the disease Ebola is in Haiti. These rumours are likely to make taking bad decisions, or even cause panic movements without cause in the population,” read the statement.
“PAHO/WHO urge the press and population to exercise caution, including health workers, noting that the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) and partners are mobilised to prepare for all eventualities.”
The meeting comes ahead of the 10th anniversary summit of ALBA, to be held on December 14 in Havana.
The meeting agreed in part to:
1. Co-ordinate efforts to prevent and deal with the Ebola epidemic, including rapidly providing and using assistance among our countries, with healthcare workers and relevant supplies and materials.
2. Look after, as a priority, the special needs of sister countries in the Caribbean that would allow them to benefit from the co-operation for preventing and confronting Ebola that are agreed to by the ALBA-TCP countries.
3. Decisively support the voluntary medical brigades specialised in dealing with disasters and major epidemics, the Henry Reeve Contingent of the Republic of Cuba, working in the countries of Africa.
5. Establish national mechanisms to rapidly diagnose and isolate suspected cases of Ebola, taking into account the initial clinical manifestations of the disease, the travel and/or exposure history reported by the patient or obtained by the epidemiological investigation.
6. Design and carry out public education campaigns about the prevention of and response to Ebola, directed to increase the preparedness of the population and to promote their trust. — Cuban Embassy/Herald Reporter.
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| Cuban Foreign Minister at the United Nations. |
HAVANA. — Heads of state and government and representatives of countries that make up the regional integration bloc Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas-Treaty of Commerce for the Peoples (ALBA-TCP), gathered in the Cuban capital Havana on October 20 to address a joint contribution to the prevention and fight against Ebola, an epidemic currently affecting West Africa.
The summit, according to the official daily Granma, was held to co-ordinate Ebola-fighting activities in West Africa and prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean.
ALBA includes Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Saint Lucia. Grenada and St Christopher and Nevis agreed to join the bloc; Suriname is an observer.
Venezualan president Nicolas Maduro said, “We ALBA countries have the most protected and powerful healthcare systems in Latin America,” Maduro said during a local healthcare event at the Teatro Nacional in Caracas. “We will have a special meeting to co-ordinate all knowledge and work protocols.”
Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the UN for Ebola, David Nabarro who was among the participants pointed out that it was an honour for him to attend the ALBA-TCP, while he thanked Cuba for its extraordinary contribution of sending health professionals to West Africa.
He hoped that other nations would provide support to address this epidemic and emphasised the willingness of Cuba to work and collaborate with other countries in the region.
The meeting was also attended by the director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Carissa Etienne. PAHO discussed how to strengthen regional efforts in order to prevent the disease from spreading throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Etienne believes that Latin American countries are ready to address Ebola, although she assured that the probability of Ebola reaching Latin America was very low.
“Our objective in this area is to assure ourselves that we can detect the first case as quickly as possible. We need to take the necessary measures to prevent the transmission of the disease,” stressed Etienne.
Etienne also celebrated the Cuban government’s decision to send 400 medical brigades to Sierra Leone stating that, “this is an example of what a small country can do to help other nations.”
In Haiti, the PAHO issued a joint statement with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to address rumours that Ebola had reached the island nation.
“It is worrying to see the growing number of unfounded rumours, which suggests that the virus of the disease Ebola is in Haiti. These rumours are likely to make taking bad decisions, or even cause panic movements without cause in the population,” read the statement.
“PAHO/WHO urge the press and population to exercise caution, including health workers, noting that the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) and partners are mobilised to prepare for all eventualities.”
The meeting comes ahead of the 10th anniversary summit of ALBA, to be held on December 14 in Havana.
The meeting agreed in part to:
1. Co-ordinate efforts to prevent and deal with the Ebola epidemic, including rapidly providing and using assistance among our countries, with healthcare workers and relevant supplies and materials.
2. Look after, as a priority, the special needs of sister countries in the Caribbean that would allow them to benefit from the co-operation for preventing and confronting Ebola that are agreed to by the ALBA-TCP countries.
3. Decisively support the voluntary medical brigades specialised in dealing with disasters and major epidemics, the Henry Reeve Contingent of the Republic of Cuba, working in the countries of Africa.
5. Establish national mechanisms to rapidly diagnose and isolate suspected cases of Ebola, taking into account the initial clinical manifestations of the disease, the travel and/or exposure history reported by the patient or obtained by the epidemiological investigation.
6. Design and carry out public education campaigns about the prevention of and response to Ebola, directed to increase the preparedness of the population and to promote their trust. — Cuban Embassy/Herald Reporter.
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