HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 6 (acn) Former US president William Clinton, UN special envoy to Haiti, admitted on Wednesday the importance of the Cuban cooperation in that country, which was devastated by an earthquake in 2010 and by the cholera epidemics.
The Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, transmitted the recognition to the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, during a session of the UN Security Council on the reconstruction of Haiti, after Rodriguez’s speech.
When addressing the UN Security Council, Rodriguez noted that Cuba’s efforts for rebuilding that nation are focused on public health in order to meet the sanitary needs of 75 percent of the population most affected with minimum expenses.
The Cuban diplomat affirmed that this is a joint program with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America (ALBA), run under the guidance and priorities of the Haitian government.
Rodriguez explained that after the earthquake, the Cuban health cooperants in Haiti have assisted nearly 2 million patients, have performed more than 36,000 surgeries and 8,500 labors, and have applied 465,000 rehabilitation treatments.
He mentioned that the Cuban health staff offers services in 23 reference community hospitals, in 30 rehabilitation rooms, 13 health centers, two surgical and ophthalmologic locations, and in the Public Health Lab.
The Cuban Foreign Minister pointed out that these doctors also faced the cholera epidemics that affects Haiti since last October, for which they created 67 units where they have assisted more than 73,000 patients – a third part of all cholera cases in the nation.
He said that out of that figure, only 272 people died, for a lethality rate of 0,37 %, which is five times less than the rest of the institutions in Haiti. He also added that there have been no deaths for the disease among the Cuban staff within the last 77 days.
Rodriguez criticized the lack of international commitment in the reconstruction of Haiti and reaffirmed Cuba’s willingness to work with any country or organization for the development of the Haitian health system.
The Cuban minister made clear that the promised funds for financial and material aid have not been paid out, and the will of the Haitian government nor its priorities have been respected.
He highlighted the support of Venezuela and the joint work of Brazil and Cuba through a Tripartite Agreement with Haiti; as well as the contribution of Namibia, Norway, South Africa, Australia, and Spain of about 3,500,000 dollars.
Rodriguez stated that Haiti does not need of any forces of occupation, and it cannot become in a protectorate of the UN, whose role is to support the Haitian government and its people in consolidating their sovereignty and self-determination.
He asserted that the UN Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has no political prerogatives to interfere in the domestic affairs of the nation.
The Cuban Foreign Minister affirmed that the humanitarian situation in Haiti does not concern the UN Security Council but UN General Assembly.
Photo by World Economic Forum/cc by 2.0
