Cuba sending dozens of doctors to fight Ebola

Posted on Friday, 09.12.14

Cuba sending dozens of doctors to fight Ebola
BY MARIA CHENG
AP MEDICAL WRITER

LONDON -- Cuba's health ministry said Friday it is sending more than 160
health workers to help stop the raging Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone,
providing a much-needed injection of medical expertise in a country
where health workers are in short supply.

World Health Organization chief Dr. Margaret Chan said the agency was
extremely grateful for the help.

"If we are going to go to war with Ebola, we need the resources to
fight," she said. "This will make a significant difference in Sierra Leone."

While millions of dollars have already been pledged and countries
including Britain and the U.S. have volunteered to build treatment
centers, Chan said "human resources are most important," noting a
crucial need for experienced doctors and nurses across the region.

"There is not a single bed available for an Ebola patient in the entire
country of Liberia," she said, adding that a further 1,500 health
workers are desperately needed in West Africa.

Dr. Roberto Morales Ojeda, Cuba's health minister, called on other
countries to help.

Ebola is believed to have killed more than 2,200 people in West Africa
so far, the biggest-ever outbreak of the lethal virus. So far, the death
rate is about 50 percent. Doctors and nurses are at high risk of
catching Ebola, spread via the exchange of bodily fluids.

Cuba will be sending experienced doctors, nurses and other scientists to
Sierra Leone in early October. They will stay for six months.

Since the 1959 Cuban revolution, the country has dispatched thousands of
doctors worldwide to work on issues ranging from maternal health to
cataracts.

Cuba's program has been praised for improving health care in countries
short on doctors, but also criticized for underpaying the physicians by
funneling too much of the compensation for the program to Cuban state
coffers.

Associated Press Writer Michael Weissenstein in Havana contributed to
this report.

Source: LONDON: Cuba sending dozens of doctors to fight Ebola - World
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http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/09/12/4343586/cuba-sending-hundreds-of-doctors.html