Speech of H.E. Cuban Ambassador, Ms. Patricia Pego Guerra, at the Botswana Commemoration of World Diabetes Day, Gaborone, November 14th 2019.
DIRECTORS OF CEREMONY.
DR. TSHEPO MACHACHA, SUPERINTENDENT OF PRINCESS MARINA HOSPITAL.
DR. ADERONKE OYEWO, HEAD OF THE DIABETES CENTRE, BLOCK 6.
DR. LIAM KADEL, NATIONAL COORDINATOR OF THE CUBAN MEDICAL TEAM.
NATIONAL COORDINATOR OF THE CHINESE MEDICAL TEAM.
ESTEEMD MEDICAL STAFF OF PRINCESS MARINA HOSPITAL AND DIABETES CENTRE, BLOCK 6 CLINIC.
COLLEAGUES MEMBERS OF THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS.
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS.
DEAR ALL PATIENTS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
GOOD MORNING TO ALL OF YOU.
IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE TO BE GATHERED HERE THIS MORNING FOR THIS SPECIAL EVENT.
ON BEHALF OF THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT AND THE CUBAN MEDICAL TEAM IN BOTSWANA, FIRST OF ALL I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY PROFOUND GRATITUTE TO DR. ADERONKE OYEWO, HEAD OF THE DIABETES CENTRE, BLOCK 6, FOR THE INVITATION TO BE PART OF IT.
OUR PRESENCE HERE, MAKE US FEEL HONORED, AND WE WELCOMED IT AS RECOGNITION OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF CUBA TO BOTSWANA IN THE HEALTH SECTOR.
THIS YEAR THEME: “THE FAMILY AND DIABETES – DIABETES CONCERNS EVERY FAMILY” SUMMARIZES THE IMPORTANCE AND NECESSITY TO CONTINUE INCREASING AWARENESS, EDUCATION AND TRAINING, TOGUETHER, ALWAYS WITH RENEWED IMPETUS, SINCE THE FAMILY IS THE ORIGINAL AND MAIN CELL OF SOCIAL LIFE, AND EACH ONE OF ITS MEMBERS HAS A RESPONSABILITY.
AS WE KNOW WORLD DIABETES DAY WAS LAUNCHED IN 1991 BY THE INTERNATIONAL DIABETES FEDERATION AND THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, IN RESPONSE TO THE RAPID RISE OF DIABETES AROUND THE WORLD.
WORLD DIABETES DAY IS COMMEMORATED IN MORE THAN 160 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES, AS WELL AS BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, COMPANIES, HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, POLITICIANS, CELEBRITIES, AND PEOPLE LIVING WITH DIABETES AND THEIR FAMILIES.
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE DIABETES SCREENING PROGRAMMES, RADIO AND TELEVISION CAMPAIGNS, SPORTS EVENTS AND OTHERS.
CUBA CONGRATULATES BOTSWANA FOR BEING IN THE VANGUARD OF THAT POSITIVE EFFORT. ALLOW ME TO SAY “WELL DONE BOTSWANA”.
CUBA AKNOWLEDGES THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF BOTSWANA IN THE HEALTH SECTOR, IN GENERAL, AND ESPECIFICALLY FACING THE ISSUE OF DIABETES, AT NATIONAL LEVEL.
WE KINDLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE WORKING LIKE THAT, EVEN HARDER, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BATSWANA PEOPLE.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
DIABETES HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT GLOBAL HEALTH PROBLEMS, WITH ACCELERATED GROWTH IN NUMBERS OF PEOPLE AFFECTED.
EACH YEAR, THERE ARE SEVEN MILLION NEW CASES AND EVERY TEN SECONDS A PATIENT DIES FROM IT.
IT IS, INDEED, ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH IN THE WORLD. ABOUT 422 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE HAVE DIABETES.
IT IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF BLINDNESS, KIDNEY FAILURE, HEART ATTACKS, STROKE AND LOWER LIMB AMPUTATION.
AN INCREASE TO 333 MILLION CASES BY 2025 IS ANTICIPATED, WHICH WOULD INVOLVE 6.5% OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION.
THE QUESTION IS, HOW CAN THE BURDEN OF DIABETES BE REDUCED?
THERE ARE DIFFERENT ANSWERS, BUT THE MOST EFFECTIVE IS VERY SIMPLE: “COLLECTIVE PREVENTION”, WHICH BASICALLY REQUIRES ACTION BASED ON SIMPLE SUSTAINED LIFESTYLE CHANGES INVOLVING DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AVOIDING TOBACCO USE, AS WELL AS IDENTIFICATING POPULATION GROUPS AT GREATER RISK, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT HEALTH POLICIES THAT CREATE ENVIRONMENTS CONDUCIVE TO ACHIEVING THESE CHANGES.
TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION WITH YOU, IN CUBA, DIABETES IS ALSO A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM, AFFECTING QUALITY OF LIFE FOR DIABETICS AND THEIR FAMILIES, AS WELL AS INCREASING THE BURDEN OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT HEALTH COSTS TO THEM, THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM AND THE NATIONAL ECONOMY.
WE HAVE A NATIONAL PROGRAM OF DIABETES, AS PART OF OUR NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM, WHOSE KEY AREAS ARE TEACHING AND TRAINING OF HEALTH STAFF TO PERFORM THIS EDUCATING FUNCTION, THROUGH WHAT WE CALL “HOUSES OF DIABETICS”, WITH EMPHASIS ON PRIMARY LEVEL OF HEALTH, WHERE MORE THAN 85 % OF PERSONS PRESENTING DIABETES IS SEEN.
AS A RESULT OF OUR BIOTECNOLOGICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL DEVELOPMENT, IN SPITE OF BEING A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY, WITH A LONG AND EVERY DAY STRONGER ECONOMIC, COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL BLOCKADE, IMPOSED BY THE US GOVERNMENT, IN CUBA WE PRODUCE A HIGH-TECH MEDICINE, NAMED HEBERPROT, DEVELOPED IN 2006 BY A CUBAN RESEARCH CENTRE.
DIABETIC WOUND SPECIALISTS SAY HEBERPROT, DESCRIBED AS A "RECOMBINANT HUMAN EPIDERMAL GROWTH MEDICATION," MAY BE THE BEST CHANCE TO SAVE THE LIVES AND LIMBS OF HUNDRED OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.
THE LIMB-SAVING MEDICATION HAS BEEN ALREADY ADMINISTERED TO MORE THAN 170,000 PATIENTS IN 23 COUNTRIES.
CUBA AND BOTSWANA ESTABLISHED DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS IN DECEMBER 1977. THE COOPERATION IN HEALTH SECTOR HAS BEEN ALWAYS AN ESENCIAL PART IN OUR RELATIONS.
CUBAN HEALTH PROFESSIONALS CAME FIRST TO WORK IN A COUPLE OF HOSPITALS, OF DIFFERENT DISTRICTS.
THEY ARE NOW DISTRIBUTED IN NINE DISTRICTS, WHERE THEY WORK WITH DISCIPLINE, RESPECT AND HUMILITY. THEY ARE A TRUE EXAMPLE OF SOUTH TO SOUTH COOPERATION, SINCE OUR SISTER NATIONS ARE BOTH DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
TO CUBA, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IS CONSIDERED A PRINCIPLE OF OUR FOREIGN POLICY; THEREFORE CUBAN HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WILL REMAIN IN BOTSWANA AS LONG AS THE BOTSWANA PEOPLE NEED THEM, AS LONG AS NECESSARY.
TO CONCLUDE, PLEASE, ALLOW ME TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS OUR WILL AND PLEASURE TO ALSO CONTINUE WORKING TOGUETHER WITH BOTSWANA TO HALT THE RISE IN DIABETES BY 2025, AS A GLOBALLY AGREED TARGET, WITH NEW INITIATIVES, IDEAS, AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
THANK YOU! PULA!