Cuba pleads for solidarity among people to face COVID-19 at ALBA-TCP meeting - MPPRE

Cuba pleads for solidarity among people to face COVID-19 at ALBA-TCP meeting

At the ALBA-TCP Health Social Council’s Special Meeting, the delegation of the Republic of Cuba pleaded on Tuesday for solidarity among the world’s countries to overcome the global sanitary emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this regard, the Deputy Minister of Education and Coordinator of the ALBA-TCP Social Council in Cuba, Miriam Alpizar Santana, said that “we demand more than ever solidarity to share experiences and good practices,” calling for “a more dynamic, concerted and effective response” in the region and “seeking our people’s complementarity and participation.”

Alpizar Santana pointed out that the great danger of the pandemic, in addition to the life-, health-threatening risks, is the “deepening of inequalities in learning and a growing exclusion of young people from education.”

Likewise, the Cuban deputy minister denounced an escalation of attacks by the United States to asphyxiate Cuba’s economic performance. Notwithstanding, she reaffirmed the Cuban Government’s will and commitment to fighting COVID-19, “particularly to engage in scientific exchanges and to advise on strategies to face the pandemic.”

In this regard, Luis Herrera Martínez, D.Sc. and Scientific, Trade Advisor of the BioCubaFarma President, said that despite the Donald Trump administration’s campaign against the medical cooperation offered by Cuba, and the tightening of the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade,” Cuba has proven that “internationalism and cooperation are the most effective medicines to face the pandemic.”

Herrera also reaffirmed Cuba’s full will to expand cooperation in public health with other ALBA-TCP member countries, and he highlighted the positive results obtained by Cuba in this field to face the sanitary crisis by offering its experience as a model to other countries.

Cuba’s cooperation goes beyond its medical missions, said Herrera, as it includes distribution of domestically produced medicines to treat COVID-19 throughout the world. Also, as for the vaccines developed by Cuba, Herrera stressed they will be available for the world once they are authorized.

“The four vaccine candidates of the island against COVID-19 are being developed as subunit vaccines, one of the most cost-effective approaches and the technological platform for which Cuba has an infrastructure,” said Herrera.