Neither the United States’ defamatory campaign to discredit and obstruct Cuban medical cooperation, nor its financial extortion of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) could prevent Cuba from being elected to the Executive Committee of the regional body for a three-year term.

The resolution designating our country, along with Surinam and Brazil, was supported by all member states, except the United States, during the second day of the 58th PAHO Directing Council’s virtual session, another victory reflecting the prestige enjoyed by Cuban Public Health, and testimony to the failure of desperate imperialist maneuvers meant to prevent Cuba’s appointment.

On this occasion, blatant lies were once again heard in the remarks of Kristen Pisani, director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Economic Assistance and Development, who “categorically” opposed the Cuban candidacy, based on the false argument linking our international medical cooperation to trafficking in persons and unfounded questioning of our participation in the More Doctors program in Brazil.

In her reply, Deputy Minister of Public Health, Dr. Marcia Cobas, exposed each of the falsehoods and described the U.S. campaign as despicable and deserving of international condemnation, according to a report from the Ministry.

Referring to strong regional support for Cuba’s nomination, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla tweeted our country’s gratitude to WHO member countries, noting, “despite U.S. attempts to prevent it. Once again, they remain internationally isolated in their campaign to discredit us.”

(Taken from Granma)

The period of reflection passed, now with this regional meeting that laid out the action in the Havana Consensus we shared experiences and identified a series of inputs to form this route map, said Morales in statements to Prensa Latina.

The official of the Panamerican Health Organization (Paho) highlighted that the strategy is aimed at implementing actions, prevent and handle the arboviruses in an integrated manner, make a differentiated and clinical diagnosis to achieve a more general vision of the illnesses transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

In this way, he stressed, we can treat dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and zika in a common way, we can reinforce the labs network, strengthen and evaluate our capacities to handle the vector.

He then considered vital to achieve these directives, mobilize the financial resources and above all, the political will. This is what will move everything so that every country can implement these actions identified by the scientists.

The First Regional Meeting for the strategy of surveillance and control of the arboviruses was held on Thursday and Friday at the Hotel Nacional of the Cuban capital, attended by over 200 delegates of 30 countries, including four ministers of Health of the region, among them, Barbados and the Health and Human Rights Secretary of the United States.

For Morales, it was a successful event, in which all objectives were achieved. The director of the entity, Carissa Etienne was also present.

(Prensa Latina)