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)

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)

President Jacob Zuma said in a communiqué to have informed Mandela in a recent meeting that “as always, all South Africans are waiting for July 18 to wish him a happy birthday in all possible ways.”

Zuma expressed his satisfaction for having wished a happy birthday to “Madiba” in advance on that occasion.

The South African president had lunch with Mandela last Wednesday and said he is “in very god health”.

Activities to celebrate Mandelaâ Ös birthday include thousands of school students who will sang “Happy Birthday Madiba” in chorus at 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT).

Since 2009, the United Nations Organization declared July 18 as “Mandelaâ Ös Day”, with a call to devote one minute to help others for each and every of the 67 years of struggle of Mandela.

Local media are publishing details of Mandelaâ Ös life and work, as well as interviews with people close to him, like Zelda la Grange, his former private secretary, who now describes him as “fit” and “pampered by his family and doctors.”