The act to commemorate Mandela’s legacy was held in the town of Cojímar, with the presence of South African students who recently graduated as doctors on the island, and leaders such as Salvador Valdés Mesa, first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers; Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Party Political Bureau and minister of Public Health; José Ramón Balaguer, member of the Party Central Committee Secretariat; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ana Teresita González Fraga; and Alfredo González Lorenzo, deputy minister of Public Health.

Special guests also included Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of the Presidency of South Africa, and Thaninga Pandit Shope-Linney, ambassador of that nation to Cuba, as well as representatives of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, the Party and the African diplomatic corps accredited here.

“Just days after having commemorated the birth of Che, we also commemorate Mandela’s centenary, an example of how much can be achieved when defending just causes with perseverance and determination,” stated Rector of the University of Medical Sciences of Havana, Luis Alberto Pichs.

Pichs noted that one of Mandela’s clearest ideas was his recognition of the need for the educational development of youth and, in that sense, he explained that the training of South African doctors in Cuba has been on the increase ever since it began, as a result of collaboration between Fidel and Mandela.

On behalf of the recent graduates set to return to South Africa to demonstrate what they have learned over the past six years of studies, one student stressed: “We are overwhelmed with gratitude to Fidel and Mandela, two world leaders who created this program in 1997 to boost the training of South African doctors, with the Cuban approach to preventive medicine, for which highly qualified professionals are required.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma noted that discipline, responsibility, patriotism and love of humanity were the values learned by South Africans studying in Cuba. She also recalled the shared history of the two countries, highlighting Cuba’s crucial support for African independence struggles. She stressed that Cuba “was side by side with us when we tried to correct our health system,” and also expressed her gratitude “to the Cuban people, to President Miguel Díaz-Canel, and to our heroes Fidel and Mandela.”

Cuban Deputy Minister of Public Health, Alfredo González Lorenzo, noted the spirit of struggle of the South African leader, reflected in his continued denunciation of apartheid throughout his many years of imprisonment. Stressing that the new graduates were soon to “serve their people,” he added that this was an example of what can be achieved despite limitations.

(Granma)

With the opening of the Kenyan Embassy in the Cuban capital, set to take place this Friday March 16, there will now be 22 nations from Sub-Saharan Africa with diplomatic missions in the country, according to information by the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

Although African countries have embassies located throughout the region, there are less than a dozen missions in bigger and economically stronger nations on our continent, like Mexico and Brazil.

Meanwhile, an important event occurred in April last year with the opening of the Embassy of the Republic of the Seychelles in Havana, the island’s first in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Attending the inauguration was the country’s President Danny Faure, who studied Political Science in Cuba.
In addition to Africa’s roots in Cuban society, culture and history, the 1959 Revolution also inspired and supported anti-colonial struggles on the continent.

Cuban soldiers for example, gave their lives to help several African countries secure their freedom, while tens of thousands of doctors, athletes, and teachers have contributed, and continue contributing, to the social and economic development of these nations.

In addition to the vast number of young Africans currently studying on the island, Cuba has also trained thousands of students from that continent who now hold important and even senior political positions in their countries of origin.

(Granma)

During the friendly meeting, which coincided with the celebration of Africa Day, the two recalled the close bonds of friendship between the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz and President Agostinho Neto, and exchanged views on the ties that unite both nations. Raúl reaffirmed the commitment and affectionate sentiment of Cuba toward the Angolan people.

Maria Eugénia Neto expressed her gratitude for the posthumous awarding of the Mehdi ben Barka Solidarity Order by the Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America (OSPAAAL) to her late husband Agostinho Neto.

The distinguished visitor was accompanied by her daughter Irene Alexandra da Silva Neto, a deputy to the National Assembly of the Republic of Angola.

(Granma)

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The doctors bring the total number of medical professionals serving in the country to 320 and will begin working in Free State, located some 465 kilometers south of Pretoria.

“They have come to help implement a public health system similar to the one we have in Cuba,” said Dr. Alberto Antonio Yánes, head of the medical mission in South Africa, speaking with Prensa Latina, who added, “The country’s healthcare leaders and those in each of the provinces where we have collaborators (eight of nine total) are very interested in applying the experiences of our health system.”

Cuba’s support in the area of health is very important to the country where infectious diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis must be confronted, Dr. Yánes stated.

The newly arrived doctors are in their majority family medicine specialists, but the group also includes anesthesiologists, pediatricians, gynecologists, and psychiatrists, he reported, noting that they will be placed in Free State where Cuban medical professionals have been working for 20 years.

Mandela’s first foreign policy act after assuming the Presidency in 1994 was establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba, and ties which were forged in the anti-apartheid struggle have continued to grow and be strengthened.

There are currently 500 Cuban collaborators serving in the country, including doctors and engineers, in 129 locations across the country, while 3,100 young South Africans have studied medicine in Cuba.

(Granma)

Likewise, educational and sports specialists share their knowledge in several sister nations, while technicians from other spheres such as agriculture also make an important contribution.

The fact is that Cuban collaborators are always ready and willing to offer services wherever they are needed.

It is precisely Cuba’s legacy of collaboration in Africa that represents one of the finest examples of the island’s solidarity efforts.

In May 1963, Algeria was the first African country to receive an international medical brigade sent from Cuba, where 55 collaborators offered services to the people of that nation for one year.

Later, in the 1970s and 80s, Ethiopia and Angola, among other countries, received medical and military assistance. A contingent of teachers was sent to Angola, where they remained over the course of eight academic years, even during the country’s independence struggles.

Since the triumph of the Revolution through 2015, over one million Cubans have provided services in more than 160 countries worldwide, while almost 30,000 health, education, sports, science, and construction collaborators, among other disciplines, have offered assistance across the entire African continent.

International collaboration is without a doubt one of the fundamental components of the Revolution’s foreign policy; a non-political initiative based on the principles of solidarity and humanism. Despite having reached various countries across the globe, Cuban collaboration has been concentrated in sister nations of the Third World.

When reviewing the island’s international collaboration efforts it is impossible not to mention cooperation in the sphere of health, which has won Cuba worldwide recognition and prestige.

One of the most recent examples, recognized globally, and by organizations such as the African Union, United Nations and World Health Organization, was the brigade of 256 Cuban health professionals – members of the Henry Reeve Contingent – sent to Guinea Conakry, Liberia and Sierra Leone, to help combat the Ebola epidemic.

Attending the meeting which began January 30 were 50-some high ranking delegations from African nations, in addition to UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, and European Union representatives, among others.

The leaders negotiated the acceptance by authorities in Bujumbura of an AU peace mission, which would also discuss reconciliation with the country’s President, Pierre Nkurunziza, PL reported.

The military mission would have as its objective the disarmament of rebel militias, collaborating with the police to protect civilians, and facilitate the work of international observers, according to AU Security Council President Smail Chergui.

Burundi’s Foreign Minister Alain Aimé Nyamitwe, said that Gambian President Yahya Jammeh rejected the idea of a AU peace force.

Political instability in the country over the last six months has cost the lives of 400 people, and obliged more than 250,000 to flee to countries around the Great Lakes region, such as Ruanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the United Nations.

(Prensa Latina)

During the political act which took place at the El Cacahual monument complex, the member of the Party Central Committee and Head of the Western Army, Division General Onelio Aguilera Bermúdez, recalled the events and actions that defined Maceo as a man whose loyalty knew no limits, a military strategist with a spirit of sacrifice; principles that have accompanied us in these 50 years of struggle and are emulated by new generations who defend the achievements of socialism.

“As big as the risks may be, no matter how the enemy is disguised, whether he resorts to open or subtle attacks in his permanent war against Cuba, we will continue waving our flags and holding high the machete wielded by Maceo,” Aguilera Bermúdez stated.

The commitment that each contribute the best of him or herself, studying hard and continuing to defend the gains of the Revolution, was ratified on behalf of the children’s José Martí Pioneers Organization, by Alena Isis Acosta, a student at the Conrado Benítez School in Mayabeque.

The tribute was attended by members of the Party Political Bureau, the Army Crops General and Hero of the Republic of Cuba, Ramón Espinosa Martín, deputy minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) and Mercedes López Acea, a vice president of the Council of State and first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party in Havana.

Also attending were leaders of the government, of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, of the FAR and the Ministry of Interior, representatives of the diplomatic-military corps in Cuba and various student and mass organizations.

During the event, floral wreaths were laid on behalf of the Cuban people to Antonio Maceo and Panchito Gómez Toro and a tribute was also offered to the prominent Communist Blas Roca Calderío and the Liberation Army soldier, Juan Fajardo Vega, known as the last Mambí.

(Granma)

The AU representative was received at the institution by the First Deputy Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal, who explained that the Ebola outbreak demonstrated that the world is not prepared to respond to these types of epidemics with the necessary speed, and that work must continue to combat them. He also reiterated that Africa can always count on the support of Cuba.

Dlamini-Zuma stated that efforts are underway to build control centers for these types of epidemics in the five regions which make up the continent of Africa (North, South, East, West and Central), “and we need to learn from their experiences,” she noted.

During her visit, Dla mi ni-Zuma held a conference entitled Africa 2063 Agenda: the continental vision and its relationship with the world, in the Raúl Roa Institute of International Relations.

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, will also take part in other activities during her official visit, including a meeting with African students at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), as well as renew the Memorandum of Understanding between the AU and Cuba.

(Granma)

Minister Gakosso expressed his profound gratitude to the Cuban diplomatic delegation in Brazzaville and the county’s Ministry of Culture for participating in the recently concluded Music Festival, which saw performances by the emblematic Aragón orchestra. In addition he presented images of his recent visit to Havana, including those taken during this year’s city-wide Biennial.

Accompanied by his Cabinet Minister and Director of Cooperation, the Congolese minister expressed his intention to continue displaying the quality and variety of Cuba’s cultural-artistic offerings in the Congo, given the various historic and cultural ties shared between both nations.

For her part, the Cuban diplomat expressed thanks on behalf of authorities of the Ministry of Culture for being selected as guest country of honor to such an important regional music celebration. She also described the island’s willingness to continue working to strengthen and diversify existing ties in the cultural sector.

(Cubaminrex-Embacuba Congo)