Cuba, Australia mull joint aid plan

27 Dec 2011, 7:30 pm   -   By: Lisa Zilberpriver
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Australia is looking to team up with Cuba to provide doctors and medical training in the Pacific region, as East Timor's fledgling university marks a milestone in graduations.

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Australia is looking to team up with Cuba to provide doctors and medical training in the Pacific region, with a scoping mission planned for early 2012.

It comes as East Timor celebrates an important landmark in its development as a nation - the first cohort of medical students fully trained on its shores graduated to become doctors this November.

Cuba is widely regarded as a world leader in medical outreach programmes for developing nations.

It began by sending doctors to support Algerian revolutionaries in 1963, and has since extended its programme to encompass more than 100 different countries.

There are more than 30,000 Cuban health workers stationed worldwide. The Cuban government also pays for the education of thousands of students from developing nations at the Latin American School of Medicine.

Tim Anderson is a senior lecturer in Political Economy at the Univeristy of Sydney. He has closely followed Cuba's medical outreach programmes for several years. 

He hosted an East Timorese graduate of Cuba's programme on a visit to Sydney health institutions in October that was organised by the Australia Cuba Friendship Society.

He says Australia and Cuba have both shown a willingness to work together in the Pacific region, but that it may not be as easy as it sounds.

"They've been talking for about two years now and I think there's goodwill on both sides which is the most important thing, but of course, Cuba and Australia have very different systems, and there are some difficulties in adjusting to those systems, so I think the talks are going to have go on for a little while still.

Watch the whole interview with Tim Anderson:

However, Parliamentary Secretary Richard Marles - who is brokering the plan for Cuban-Australian cooperation - says any obstacles encountered will be small.

Mr Marles says Australia hopes to make the most of Cuba's world-renowned expertise in providing medical aid and education in developing nations.

Watch the full interview with Mr Marles:

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Your Comments

mrs

lily - from oakleigh south, 5 months ago

This is very welcome news.At long last this is something we have been waiting to see from sbs,something positive.thank you another member from Australia-Cuba Friendship Society.

Operation Miracle

Andres I. (Costa) - from Airlie Beach, Qld., 5 months ago

At the close of 2007, Operation Miracle “made possible operations on 1,328,000 patients in 49 ophthalmologic centres in 31 countries in three continents,” the programme foresees “intervening surgically by 2016 on 6 million with sight problems”. The programme had “49 ophthalmologic centres, 82 surgical positions and 876 professionals”. Uruguay denied its on people the access to eye surgery unless they paid thousands of dollars until the arrival of Operation Miracle. One has to be “blind” not to appreciate the work of the Cuban doctors in third world countries; it would be tantamount to deny the works of the Hollows Foundation.

Amazing Solidarity Work

Marls - from Sydney, 5 months ago

It is amazing to hear of Cuba's great solidarity work. As a result East Timor will have almost a thousand new doctors providing much needed health services to rural and local communities. This will see a big improvement in health and social indicators. It would be good if the Australian Govt. followed Cuba's example. Well done SBS for showing this gleam of light in such a gloomy world.

Awsome News

rob alan - from comfy@home, 5 months ago

Just when I thought nothing could surprise thee and in a good way. Go figure.

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