The Minister of Public Health of Cuba, Dr. José Angel Portal Miranda, spoke today during the general debate of the 75th World Health Assembly.
“Health for peace; peace for Health”, is the theme that brings us together in this 75th World Health Assembly and that we defended on behalf of Cuba when intervening in a high-level segment of the event. For the health and peace of our people and those of the world we work tirelessly”, the minister wrote on his social network Twitter.
“Only the joint action of countries and their governments, based on respect, solidarity and cooperation, will guarantee a healthier and more sustainable world, and will preserve the peace and health of our populations,” he said.
In his speech, Portal Miranda emphasized that humanity faces today one of the most complex scenarios in its history. “More than two years into the covid-19 pandemic, the economic, social, and health effects remain incalculable,” he said.
He referred that “covid-19 has reversed years —possibly decades— of progress. Compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals, already in itself a debt for the world, means a growing challenge in the current context”.
“All humanity suffers the consequences of the current crisis, and the longer it lasts, the greater the economic and social damage will be for our peoples. Cuba has not been able to escape from it either and its effects also have serious consequences for our people,” Portal Miranda pointed out.
In his speech before the Assembly, he pointed out that precisely the international order, which considers health as a commodity and not a human right, has caused 66% of the world population to not have a complete vaccination scheme against covid-19 and that there are today weak health services that affect maternal and child health and disease control.
The minister presented the results of the Cuban health system, in particular in the confrontation with the covid-19 pandemic in the last two years.
“The control of covid-19 has been possible by having a social justice system that puts the human being at the center of its policies, an organized society with popular participation, together with the existence of health and science systems at the service of the nation”, highlighted Portal Miranda.
“Incomparable has been the commitment of our small island to sovereignty to face the pandemic, despite the intensified blockade imposed by the Government of the United States: 85% of the products that we use in the treatment protocol are national invoice”, he highlighted.
“It is striking that a small island subjected to a fierce economic, commercial and financial blockade has been the first country in Latin America to produce five vaccine candidates against covid-19, three of them approved for emergency use by the national regulatory agency”, he said.
Before the forum, the Cuban Minister of Health pointed out that Cuba is the first nation in the world to vaccinate the entire population against this disease from two years of age. “More than 36 million doses have been administered and vaccination coverage has reached 96.7% of the vaccinable population,” he said.
Currently Cuban vaccines are also administered in 6 countries, he added.
Cuba’s contributions against the pandemic go beyond the necessary immunization, said Portal Miranda, who highlighted the role of Cuban medical cooperation that arrives this Monday, May 23, for its 59th anniversary.
“In the midst of constant actions to discredit and hinder Cuban medical cooperation, we support the fight against covid-19 in 42 countries, with 58 specialized Henry Reeve brigades, whose members joined the more than 28,000 health professionals who worked in 59 nations,” he said.
“It is essential to work to achieve resilient health systems, based on Primary Health Care, with a broad and innovative approach, that contribute to the health of all equally. Let us take advantage of the multiple experiences left by this disease for this purpose,” said the Cuban minister.