Havana, March 15 (RHC)-- Cuba believes that Haiti today needs real assistance and cooperation for its reconstruction and progress, without foreign interference that has been the cause of its problems.

This was emphasized in a statement issued by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex), published on its website, which reaffirms the solidarity of the largest of the Antilles with the Haitian people.

The text specifies that Cuba maintains contacts with regional actors about the situation in Haiti, to whom it has reaffirmed that the people of that Caribbean nation "have the right to find a peaceful, sustainable and lasting solution to the challenges they face, based on full respect for their self-determination, sovereignty and independence".

It recalls that Haiti is suffering a serious multidimensional crisis that exacerbates social instability, poverty and structural underdevelopment, caused by centuries of colonial and neocolonial plunder and foreign interventions.

It underlines that the international community has a great debt with Haiti, a Caribbean nation that was the protagonist of the first independence, anti-slavery and social revolution of the continent, "which has suffered the cruel and selfish reprisals of the imperialist powers for more than two centuries".

Cuba provided solidarity and disinterested cooperation to Haiti in areas of great impact for its people, such as public health, education, agriculture, sports, energy, water resources and other key areas for the social and economic stability of the country, the Minrex statement said.

It details that 448,355 Haitians were taught to read and write through Cuban programs and 1,606 young people have been educated in Cuban universities.

It also highlights that Cuba has maintained a brigade of health professionals and technicians in Haiti uninterruptedly since 1998, who have treated more than 38,580,215 cases, administered 1,014,806 doses of vaccines, performed 774,236 surgical operations and 73,331 ophthalmological interventions as part of Operation Miracle.

This cooperation has been sustained even in the most difficult moments of that country, including the foreign intervention in 2004, the earthquakes of 2010 and 2021, the cholera epidemics and the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current situation, the document points out.

It specifies that the Cuban government maintains a fluid communication and permanent attention to the 53 health collaborators who remain in southern Haiti, where the situation is calmer, as well as to the other 7 who, together with the Cuban embassy staff, are well and have taken the necessary measures for their safety and protection.

The statement details that through the Cuban diplomatic mission in Port-au-Prince and from the Minrex, communication has also been maintained with the Cubans residing in Haiti or in transit and their families, and constant follow-up is being given to their situation.  (Source: Prensa Latina)