By Innocent Odoh
Abuja
The Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Nigeria, Hugo Rene’ Ramos, has disclosed in detail how his country makes laudable contributions to the fight against the Ebola threat in West Africa.
He told reporters in Abuja yesterday when he hosted a team from the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Human Rights community, who paid courtesy visit to the Cuban Embassy in Abuja yesterday.
“Africa and Cuba are bound together by deep affection. Over 76 thousand Cuban collaborators have rendered health services in 39 countries, while 45 nations have had 3,392 physicians trained in Cuba absolutely free of charge.
“At the moment, more than 4 thousand Cuban health collaborators are working in 32 African countries and, as our public health minister will explain, they are all joining in the preventive efforts against Ebola,” he said in his remarks.
The envoy said further that on October 1, in response to a request from the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, and UN Secretary General, Mr. ban Ki-Moon, a specialized Cuban medical brigade (165 professionals) traveled to Sierra Leone to take part in the struggle against the Ebola epidemic.
He added that on October 21, two other Cuban brigades (83 professionals), departed for Liberia (49) and Guinea (34) made of 256 Cuban professional to work in the affected countries in West Africa.
He said that Cuba is ready to develop a training programme in African countries not affected by the epidemic, where there is the presence of Cuban medical brigades, on issues such as prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease. He charged the African governments to make health issues a priority and harmonise their resources to tackle the threat of Ebola
In his remarks, the Vice President of the NLC, Comrade Issah Aremu, said Cuba is friend of Nigeria and Africa having sent over 460 health workers to bail out West Africa, which has been ravaged by diseases especially the Ebola epidemic.
Aremu therefore urged the United States to lift embargo on Cuba and renew bilateral relations with the country adding that Cuba has shown exemplary role on health issues in Africa.
Contributing, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, noted that not less than one million people die of malaria in Africa annually, but the attention that is being given to Ebola now is simply because it can kill the rich and the poor with immediacy and without discrimination because there no cure.
He charged Nigeria to collaborate with Cuba to fight and exterminate malaria in Nigeria because it is possible.
From right: Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Hugo Rene’ Ramos and the Vice President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrade Issa Aremu, during a press briefing on the contribution of Cuba to the fight against the Ebola disease in West Africa held in Abuja yesterday Photo: Innocent Odoh
