Harare, June 9, 2026 – The 40th anniversary of Cuban medical cooperation with Zimbabwe was marked today with a moving celebration in the capital, attended by the Minister of Health and Childcare, the Honorable Douglas Mombeshora, and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Elio Rodríguez Perdomo.
The Cuban Ambassador, Susellys Pérez Mesa, opened the commemoration by reading a congratulatory message from the Cuban Minister of Health, José Ángel Portal, addressed to the medical professionals for continuing the strong internationalist legacy of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz in the centennial year of his birth.
Before more than one hundred guests, including the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the ruling ZANU-PF party, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, the head of the Medical Brigade, Dr. Maria Eugenia García, gave a detailed account of the contributions of the medical professionals over the past four decades.
Trust Mabaya, a young Zimbabwean man, thanked Cuba and his country for allowing him to graduate from the Latin American School of Medicine and now to fulfill the legacy of the historical leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, by putting into practice the human compassion of caring for his fellow countrymen in a hospital in his homeland.
Medical cooperation is a concept that cannot be understood without considering the island's modest contribution to the world, with the contribution of more than 600,000 specialists and the gratitude of millions of people in 165 countries where they have left their mark, stated Ambassador Pérez Mesa.
She also emphasized that the true architect of this achievement is the noble and dignified Cuban people.
The Vice Minister, for his part, said he contemplates with well-deserved pride the contribution, since 1986, of more than a thousand professionals to the health of this friendly nation.
Speaking to those present at the Museum of African Liberation, Rodríguez Perdomo stated that, like the healthcare professionals who have been willing to confront Ebola, COVID-19, earthquakes, and natural disasters in other lands, Cubans are prepared to preserve their sovereignty and social project at any cost.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health and Childcare reiterated his sincere gratitude to the Caribbean nation for 40 years of practical cooperation in various specialties and the training of Zimbabwean doctors.
The event also served as an opportunity to present the 85th Anniversary Seal of the Cuban Workers' Federation to the 14th Medical Brigade, as well as for an exchange of awards between the two ministries of health.
In addition to the members of the medical contingent from the Caribbean nation, the celebration was attended by members of parliament, foreign ministry officials, ambassadors from some twenty countries, members of the solidarity movement, and Cuban residents.