Cuba’s Henry Reeve International Contingent of Doctors Specializing in Disasters and Serious Epidemics will be awarded the Dr. Lee Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health by the World Health Organization (WHO) this May 26, in recognition of its solidarity work and outstanding contribution to public health.
The prize — awarded to individuals, institutions or governmental organizations who have made a significant contribution in the field of public health — also honors the efforts of the more than 250 Cuban health workers who combated the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
At present, the Henry Reeve Contingent — created by the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, on September 19, 2005 — is providing medical care in Piura, a region in northern Peru affected by heavy rains.
Cuban Minister of Public Health Roberto Morales Ojeda, who arrived in Geneva on Saturday evening, will head the Cuban delegation to the 70th World Health Assembly — the organization’s main decision-making body — which will session May 22– 31.
Morales Ojeda will participate in the plenary sessions of the assembly, hold working meetings with other heads of delegations, and attend the traditional meeting of health ministers of the member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, according to a statement from Cuba’s Permanent Mission to Geneva.
The program of the 70th World Health Assembly includes debates and discussions on important issues on the global health agenda, and the election of the successor to Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO general director, who will conclude her second term leading the organization.
(Granma)