The 1st Thread For 3/3/10: Shhh, Don't Let Them Know They Are Helping Everyone

Photo from Tom Fawthrop

You wouldn't know by our media, but it's paramount to give you the whole delivery as always. Playing just as vital a role of any country, if not more, for the treatment of the travesty Haiti has endured has been the Cuban government.

You won't here any major news packages on this:

"It is striking that there has been virtually no mention in the media of the fact that Cuba had several hundred health personnel on the ground before any other country," said David Sanders, a professor of public health from Western Cape University in South Africa.

Continuing their medical pact of helping Haiti since 1998, Cuba's doctors (and Haitian doctors trained at Cuban schools) has been nothing short of immense to the ravished nation.

Before the earthquake struck, 344 Cuban health professionals were already present in Haiti, providing primary care and obstetrical services as well as operating to restore the sight of Haitians blinded by eye diseases.

More doctors were flown in shortly after the earthquake, as part of the rapid response Henry Reeve Medical Brigade of disaster specialists. The brigade has extensive experience in dealing with the aftermath of earthquakes, having responded to such disasters in China, Indonesia and Pakistan.

"In the case of Cuban doctors, they are rapid responders to disasters, because disaster management is an integral part of their training," explains Maria a Hamlin Zúniga, a public health specialist from Nicaragua.

This isn't a competition, and I love the guys at Doctors with Borders. But they would be the first to acknowledge this obvious truth since they are nothing short of class acts.

However, in reporting on the international aid effort, Western media have generally not ranked Cuba high on the list of donor nations.

One major international news agency's list of donor nations credited Cuba with sending over 30 doctors to Haiti, whereas the real figure stands at more than 350, including 280 young Haitian doctors who graduated from Cuba. The final figure accounts for a combined total of 930 health professionals in all Cuban medical teams making it the largest medical contingent on the ground.

Another batch if 200 Cuban-trained doctors from 24 countries in Africa and Latin American, and a dozen American doctors who graduated from Havana are currently en route to Haiti and will provide reinforcement to existing Cuban medical teams.

By comparison the internationally-renowned Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF or Doctors without Borders) has approximately 269 health professionals working in Haiti. MSF is much better funded and has far more extensive medical supplies than the Cuban team.

But the only mention of Cuba's second to none assistance for Haiti here at least in the US:

There have, however, been notable exceptions to this reporting syndrome. On January 19, a CNN reporter broke the silence on the Cuban role in Haiti with a report on Cuban doctors at La Paz hospital.

And you probably won't be hearing anymore of Cuban facilitation after that.