By María Josefina Arce
More than a hundred Cuban health professionals arrived in Honduras in recent days to help revitalize the health system, which the government of President Xiomara Castro inherited in a critical situation, after years of underinvestment in this vital area.
Cardiologists, immunologists, surgeons and anesthesiologists, among other specialists, make up the group, which Honduran authorities said will make it possible, among other benefits for the population, to reduce the waiting time for surgery that many citizens of the Central American nation suffer today.
The Cuban doctors, who will work in the public hospitals Escuela and Catarino Rivas, in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, received a warm welcome at the Palmerola airport by many Hondurans.
The arrival of the health professionals in Honduran territory is in compliance with a medical cooperation agreement signed earlier this month between Havana and Tegucigalpa.
The agreement, signed for a period of two years, will also allow Honduran doctors to specialize in the Caribbean island.
The citizens of the Central American country have already benefited in other occasions with the attention of health workers coming from Cuban territory. The first arrived in 1998, after the devastating passage of Hurricane Mitch through the region, which left numerous deaths and millions of dollars in economic losses.
They provided assistance in remote and difficult to access areas, where historically there is little or no presence of health personnel. Since then, they have performed millions of consultations and thousands of surgeries.Also in 2020, a Cuban brigade helped the victims of tropical storms Eta and Iota. Great was the recognition of the people and the authorities. Even the Congress conferred them the Honorary Order of the Commander's Cross.
Cuban health professionals have left their mark in different latitudes. They have placed their high level of training, dedication and humanism at the service of the most needy, regardless of adverse conditions.Now in Honduras they will continue to make history, committed to providing help to all, especially to the most vulnerable sectors. They will continue to bring relief and save lives.
