Watch: Cuba offers to expand cooperation in Health with Mozambique

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Watch: Cuba offers to expand cooperation in Health with Mozambique

7:04 CAT | 19 Jun 2017

TVM

The Cuban Centre of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana is open to assisting Mozambique in various health areas, including help with staff and medicines.

The Centre’s management made this offer on Friday during a visit by Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

“We have products that are at the disposal of Mozambique. We can begin working with Mozambican and Cuban doctors trained in this centre”, said Manuel Pérez-Castañeda, of the Department of Strategic Products and Programmes of the Cuban government, during the presentation made to Nyusi of the activities undertaken at the Centre.

During the presentation, Pérez-Castañeda, based on the Mozambican health statistics, painted a clinical and epidemiological picture of the country, listing the most common diseases that are responsible for the country’s high rates of mortality. He was sure that the Centre could help Mozambique overcome some of the health problems it faces.

“Mozambique and Cuba are brothers and will always be brothers”, he declared. The Centre’s expertise expands to diseases such as cancer and diabetes, and Pérez-Castañeda told Nyusi that it now has advanced technology for treating cancer. Cuban therapy can also avoid amputations that sometimes result from diabetes.

Health Minister Nazira Abdula, who is accompanying Nyusi, expressed an interest in expanding the current cooperation with Cuba in health, and exploiting Cuba’s internationally recognized scientific knowledge and expertise.

For many years, Cuba has sent doctors to work in Mozambique, and currently there are 275 Cuban doctors in Mozambican hospitals.

“After this visit to the Biotechnology Centre”, Abdula told reporters, “I think we can use the knowledge that Cuban scientists possess, including some of the products they make and which are already certified internationally. We can make a selection and see how they can be accessible in our country”.

This was the case with medicines developed at the centre to cope with diabetic feet. “We know that diabetes leads to ulcers on the feet which are very difficult to cure”, she said. “The Cuban doctors could show that this treatment is effective and it is recognized and certified internationally”.

“We need to analyse together and select the areas where we can immediately begin to take advantage of the experience the Cubans have”, Abdula added.