Quito, March 9 (RHC-PL)-- With the arrival of another group of 600 physicians, the Cuban medical brigade in Ecuador will be the third largest group of Cuba's international collaboration program. The program so far operates in more than 70 countries.

In statements to Prensa Latina, Maria Isabel Martinez, head of the Cuban health care contingent working in this South American country, stated that with this new development the number of Cuban professionals in Ecuador will rise to 1,200, only surpassed by the brigades working in Venezuela and Brazil.

Martinez said the Cuban physicians are currently working in 23 of the 24 Ecuadorian provinces, with many of them serving in remote areas.

We have signed ten agreements with the Ecuadorian Ministry of Public Health, and two other accords with the Ecuadorian Institute on Social Security, pointed out Martinez, who added that the Cuban staff has assisted more than 150,000 Ecuadorian patients in six months.

On the basis of those agreements, the Cuban physicians are working in the project known as Operation Miracle, which has allowed thousands of Ecuadorians to have their sight restored, in addition to performing organ transplants, caring for patients with diabetic foot ulcers and the training of local colleagues.