Havana, October 31 (RHC) -– Cuban Health Minister Roberto Morales said that the high-level meeting of experts on the prevention and fight against Ebola, held in Havana this week, revealed the need for countries of the region to join efforts for their benefit and allowed to deepen knowledge and share experiences to confront the disease and assist African countries.

Morales spoke to reporters at the end of the technical meeting on Thursday, which was attended by representatives of 34 out of all 35 nations of The Americas.

“By fighting Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, we are not only protecting Africa but humanity as a whole, because in this case no one can escape this danger,” said the Cuban minister.

“This meeting has proven that we all can make our contribution, but we must make it now, because every passing minute translates into more sick and more victims,” Morales noted.

The Cuban government official said that events like the current Ebola epidemic reveal the importance for unity in the face of other challenges to health, such as climate change, the food situation and poverty.

“For these reasons, we can assure that the latest special summit of the countries with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas, ALBA, on the Ebola epidemic was excellent, since we are already implementing its accords, as this meeting was one of them,” he noted.

Morales announced that a first international course on the prevention of and the fight against Ebola will take place November 10th to the 15th at the Havana-based Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute.