In the virtual meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum, held this Thursday March 25th , the experiences of Cuba in the confrontation with COVID-19 were addressed Author: Milagros Pichardo | internacional@granma.cu «Many and diverse have been the challenges and lessons learned since COVID-19 broke into the world in 2020. Their confrontation has not only brought about postponing goals and transforming life objectives in all sectors and nations, but has also implied constantly redefining strategies and ways of doing things in the search for better control of the disease ”, in this way The Cuban Minister of Public Health, Dr. José Angel Portal Miranda, began his speech at the virtual meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum, held this Thursday. At the meeting, which aimed to inform about Cuba's strategy in confronting the coronavirus pandemic, the minister of our country stressed that we are not only in the presence of a new infectious agent, but of alterations that go beyond the individual and they have an impact on the countries, reaching the community level, with disastrous effects on the economic and social order. Portal Miranda explained that many may wonder how Cuba, being a small country with such limited resources, has managed to successfully face this new health challenge, a fact that has been possible because “from the moment the virus posed a threat to the population began to adopt measures aimed, in the first place, to save lives, an essence that has defined our Revolution for more than 60 years. He also added that the approach to this epidemiological situation has had as a premise three essential elements: the express political will that people's health is a priority; government management; as well as prevention and anticipation of risk. He referred in detail to the actions carried out, in various sectors, by the Biggest of the Antilles since the beginning of the pandemic, all integrated into the National Plan for the prevention and control of the new coronavirus. «The efforts developed from the health field to preserve life have demanded interdisciplinary, community and intersectoral actions; at the same time that they have required great organization and resources ”, he emphasized. He stressed that the results achieved are a sample of a National Health System that is characterized by being free, accessible, regionalized, comprehensive and without discrimination. He also stressed the performance of science that has been vital in clinical and observational studies, as well as in the creation of vaccines against the disease, two of them in Phase III clinical trials. He outlined as essential the help provided by 57 Cuban medical brigades, from the Henry Reeve contingent, which have supported the fight against the disease in 40 countries. Regarding the tightening of the United States blockade against Cuba, he denounced that the northern nation has deprived our people of lung ventilators, personal protective equipment, diagnostic means and other supplies necessary for the management of the epidemic, which are added to many others. restrictions that, for years, have prevented us from acquiring equipment and supplies for the treatment of complex diseases. In reference to the global context, he explained that the responses to the pandemic have been very different, almost always conditioned by the political, economic and social scenario of the countries, which has made the deficiencies that characterize some health systems in the world more visible. . «The results obtained by Cuban Public Health in this complex year of confrontation with COVID-19 bear in their essence the strategic thinking of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, and the effort that the Cuban Revolution has put to develop the sectors of the health, education and science, "added Portal Miranda. He confirmed that "the true secret of our results is in the very essence of the Revolution: the unity of all Cubans." Also participating in the meeting were political parties that are members of the Sao Paulo Forum, solidarity, social and popular movements, as well as the Network of Intellectuals in Defense of Humanity. On the Cuban side, the president of BioCubaFarma, Dr.C. Eduardo Martínez Díaz, who addressed biotechnological development and vaccine production in Cuba; the general director of the Finlay Vaccine Institute, Dr.C. Vicente Vérez Bencomo, to speak on the Soberana 01 and Soberana 02 vaccines; and the member of the Party's Political Bureau and director of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Dra.C. Marta Ayala Ávila, who dedicated her intervention to the Mambisa and Abdala vaccines. https://www.facebook.com/watch/UJCuba/ 
