The government of the Republic of Ecuador informed the decision to terminate and not renew the six agreements signed with the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba.
The Cuban medical cooperation in Ecuador began in 1992. In June 2006 the cooperation agreement was signed for the start of the “Operation Miracle”, with the participation of 153 employees. Through this program 168 thousand 543 surgical interventions were carried out, including 4 thousand 609 cataracts and 118 thousand 575 pterygium.
In January 2009, on the occasion of the official visit of then President Rafael Correa Delgado, the Framework Agreement on Cooperation in Health between the two governments was signed.
On June 11 of the same year, the Interinstitutional Cooperation Agreement was signed between the then Ecuadorian Vice President Lenín Moreno Garcés and the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba, for the realization of the psycho - social, pedagogical and clinical genetic study of people with disabilities, known as “Manuela Espejo” Solidarity Mission. During this program, 825 thousand 576 people were attended, of which 35 thousand 257 were specialized neurophysiology and otolaryngology consultations. 21 thousand 62 patients underwent clinical genetics studies.
In 2013, the contract was signed with the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) through which 293 Cuban doctors of different specialties provided medical assistance in 52 units of this Institute.
Cuba has provided assistance in emergencies and disasters in Ecuador: in 1986 due to heavy rains, in 2001 due to a dengue epidemic, and for the care of the victims of the earthquake that occurred on April 16, 2016.
Since the beginning of the medical collaboration in this country to date, a total of 3 565 Cuban health professionals have provided services in Ecuador. There have been 6 million 749 thousand 666 medical consultations, 212 thousand 360 surgical interventions, attended 3 thousand 548 deliveries and applied 100 thousand 84 doses of vaccination.
At all times, Cuban health professionals have strictly adhered to perform the functions entrusted to them by the health system of Ecuador in strict compliance with the letter of the signed agreements.
The recent campaigns of the United States government to discredit and sabotage the international cooperation that Cuba provides in the field of health in dozens of countries, cannot obscure these data that demonstrate the altruistic spirit and solidarity effort of the Cuban collaborators.
Currently, the medical brigade in Ecuador is made up of 382 collaborators, who are present in 23 of the 24 provinces of that country.
The Cuban collaborators will return to the Homeland, after having made their meritorious contribution to the noble purpose of ensuring medical care for the Ecuadorian population, in correspondence with the principle of universal health coverage promoted by the World Health Organization. Cuban professionals covered deficit specialties in the Ecuadorian health system, as they have voluntarily done more than 400 thousand professionals in this sector in 164 countries, since 1963.
The Ministry of Public Health of the Republic of Cuba ratifies the will to continue providing collaboration in this brother town, which ceases at this time as a result of a decision by the Ecuadorian government.
The peoples of Our America and the rest of the world know that they can always count on the humanist and solidarity vocation of Cuban professionals.