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Written by: Daniel Xie
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On January 23, 2020, the Canadian Network on Cuba (CNC) hosted an event announcing the start of their Medical Supplies for Cuba campaign. The goal of this event was to launch a 3-month fundraising campaign, in order to garner $50,000 to provide medical supplies for Cuba to allow it to continue its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and successfully produce the vaccines needed to immunize its population. According to the CNC, while Cuba has made significant efforts at fighting the Coronavirus at home and worldwide, their efforts are being hindered by the ongoing United States blockade. It is an illegal blockade that prevents Cuba accessing much needed medical supplies for the island nation.
The event launching CNC’s Medical Supplies for Cuba campaign was co-hosted by Elizabeth Hill, Co-Chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba & President of the Canadian Cuban Friendship Association, and Tamara Hansen, an Executive member of the Canadian Network on Cuba and Coordinator of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba.
Panelists were introduced by co-hosts Elizabeth Hill and Tamara Hansen, and included:
Her Excellency, Josefina Vidal, Cuban Ambassador to Canada
Dr. John Kirk, Cuba researcher and professor at Dalhousie University
Professor Keith Ellis, Coordinator of the CNC Medical Supplies Fundraising Campaign
Conner Gorry, senior editor for MEDICC Review based in Havana, Cuba
Teresita Keosseuian, Asociacion Juan Gualberto Gomez de Cubanos Residentes en Canadá
Sylvain Archambault, Treasurer of la Table de Concertation de Solidarité Québec-Cuba
Dr. Issac Saney, Co-Chair of Canadian Network on Cuba & professor at Dalhousie University
Janine Solanki. National Coordinator – Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade
CNC discusses the impact of continued US-led blockade on Cuba
The panelists discussed the efforts of the ongoing US-led blockade on Cuba, the efforts of the former Trump administration to reverse Obama’s attempted efforts at normalizing relations with Cuba, and what the ascension of newly-elected president Joe Biden to power on January 21, 2021, might signify with regards to a possible reset in US-Cuban relations. According to Issac Saney and Josefina Vidal, Trump inflicted significant damage on the prospect of a “reset” in relations between Cuba and the US, citing the fact that during his time in the Oval Office, Trump passed 240 measures against Cuba in actions described by Saney as a violation of international law enshrining the right of all nations to self-determination. Unless the incoming Biden administration lifts many of these restrictions and removes the designation of Cuba as a terrorist state by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, it will be very hard to normalize relations once again.
The efforts undertaken by the Trump administration to destabilize and facilitate the overthrow of the Cuban government were also condemned as utterly hypocritical by Sylvain Archambault. He notes that even while the US declared Cuba to be a terrorist state not long before Trump’s departure from office, the United States have engaged, and continues to engage in terrorist activities such as maintaining its blockade on Cuba, attempting to assassinate Fidel Castro via the CIA hundreds of times ever since the victory of the Cuban Revolution, maintaining their occupation of Guantanamo Bay, engaging in torture against those imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, and seeking time and time again to turn international opinion against Cuba.
Cuba’s medical internationalism and its efforts at fighting COVID-19
Panelists noted that attempts by the US to turn international opinion against Cuba were on full display during the COVID-19 pandemic. As noted by John Kirk, when the virus first broke out, Mike Pompeo attempted to push other countries into not accepting support from Cuban healthcare workers. These attempts have failed to deter the Cubans from providing medical aid to those in need around the world, with Cuban doctors in the Henry Reeve Brigade being successfully deployed to many corners of the world, including Italy. As of now, there are still 38 medical brigades working in 28 countries.
The history of the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, and Cuba’s history of internationalist medical assistance to the world was also touched upon during the event. According to Keith Ellis, Cuba has a tradition of humanitarian support for the downtrodden worldwide, rooted in its struggles against Spanish and American imperialism. Ellis recounted Cuba’s providing aid and support for children in the Soviet Union suffering after the Chernobyl disaster; with children in Cuba giving their gifts and accommodations to the children from the Chernobyl region. In recent years, Cuban medical assistance carried out by the Henry Reeve Brigade has saved thousands of lives in regions wracked by disease and natural disasters, such as in China during the Sichuan earthquake, El Salvador during Hurricane Ida, and Pakistan during the Kashmir earthquake.
In places where the Henry Reeve Brigade has operated, the doctors stayed as long as they were needed, and also trained and educated professionals in the region so they could provide medical assistance on their own. When the Henry Reeve Brigade was sent to Pakistan in the aftermath of the Kashmir earthquake for instance, they not only provided medical support for thousands in the affected region, but also gave free training to many medical students with regards to using medical technology and providing medical assistance.
While discussing Cuba’s medical internationalism, Ellis and other panelists also noted that during Hurricane Katrina, Cuba wanted to send the Henry Reeve Brigade to the US to help rebuild New Orleans and care for those suffering from the violent storm. This request was denied by the Bush administration, who would rather let their civilians die from the conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina than accept Cuban aid.
Attention was also brought to Cuba’s healthcare system, and how that healthcare system has allowed Cuba to prepare effectively for the pandemic. As discussed by Conner Gorry, Cuba had prepared for COVID since January 2020, before WHO declared it a pandemic, and preparations included vaccine development. Gory notes that Cuba already has four candidates in the works through its coordinated biotech industry – one of these vaccines specifically being designed to protect children. These efforts, combined with Cuba’s universal healthcare system, have allowed Cuba to successfully weather the brunt of the pandemic, with an infection rate and a death rate significantly lower than the catastrophic death rates of the US and even Canada.
Regarding the vaccines, Gory states that they are being developed by Cuba (Soberana 01, Soberana 02, Mambisa and Abdala), have been proven to work, and do not require cold chain and high refrigerant rates usually needed to create vaccines; the use of high refrigerant rates often being difficult to accomplish in the developing world with regards to vaccine production.
As noted by Josefina Vidal, Cuba is preparing infrastructure to deliver 100 million vaccines not just in Cuba, but also worldwide. The medical infrastructure implemented by Cuba, according to Ellis, gives Cuba the capabilities to deliver vaccines to the US as well. Yet despite this opportunity for the US to receive much-needed vaccines at a time when its own vaccine rollout has been slow, pressure through sanctions and the embargo have only been increased by the US government; once again demonstrating that the US government would rather see a transition from COVID that puts millions of Americans at risk than accept support from Cuba that might have seen many lives saved.
Solidarity with Cuba’s Medical Internationalism, Break the Blockade!
CNC’s event kickstarting their campaign to provide much-needed medical supplies for Cuba highlights the brave resilience of the Cuban people and their healthcare system in the face of American imperialism and the continued economic blockade against their nation. Despite the efforts of the Trump administration in reversing diplomatic normalization and imposing more restrictions on Cuba, Cuba has not only successfully weathered the pandemic through their medical infrastructure and healthcare system, but has also successfully provided much-needed aid around the world in fighting the spread of COVID. At a time when supposedly “democratic” and “free” nations like the US and Canada seek to divert the production and distribution of vaccines in favor of the pharmaceutical industry at the expense of the health of billions, Cuba by contrast seeks to deploy their vaccines everywhere needed, even in countries seeking to topple their government such as the United States.
Yet, as a result of the continued blockade, combined with the damage Trump has done to American-Cuba relations, Cuba’s efforts to acquire medical supplies to produce vaccines and care for those suffering under the pandemic will be hindered. And if Biden reneges on his promise to normalize relations with Cuba, or fails to improve relations in any meaningful way, Cuba’s efforts to fight the pandemic at home and worldwide will be severely weakened due to a lack of medical supplies and equipment.
It falls on those who support Cuba’s sovereignty and right to self-determination in Canada and around the world to support Cuba in the face of US-led economic warfare through initiatives such as CNC’s medical supplies for Cuba campaign, and also to push for the lifting of the US blockade around Cuba hindering Cuba from protecting its population from COVID-19 at home, and providing medical support and vaccines to those in need worldwide.
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This post was originally published on Articles - The Canada Files.
