Cuba vs Covid19
Let's help Cuba fight against coronavirus
Project Overview
The Instituto de Medicina Pedro KourÃ, Cuba's number one centre for infectious diseases, has requested assistance to purchase of reagents and supplies for the control, monitoring and diagnosis of Covid-19 in Cuba, equipment that they are struggling to find and fund because of the blockade. The money raised from this campaign will be used to purchase and send everything they need to fight the coronavirus!
You see it everywhere: getting masks, hydro-alcoholic gel, acquiring tests and respirators is very complicated at the moment; because everyone is trying to get the same products, supplies and equipment... every man for himself prevails in these times of crisis.
But what happens when one has to circumvent an economic, commercial and financial blockade in order to acquire the tests, supplies and all the equipment needed to control, monitor and fight the invisible enemy? When a large part of the population is over 65 years of age? When the country's main activity is tourism?
Cubans would say "no es fácil..." ... yet this is what Cuba has been experiencing for decades and the strategy they have developed to overcome these obstacles has always been that of S O L I D A R I T Y!
They have demonstrated this to us in recent days: in China, Lombardy, Spain or Iran, and everywhere else where they have been working for a long time to ensure the right to health for all.
Today, Cuba and its people need us! The Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pedro Kouri (IPK), a partner of mediCuba-Europa and mediCuba-Suisse, has requested emergency assistance to acquire reagents and supplies for the control, monitoring and diagnosis of Covid-19.
Cuba has established a three-stage national plan with the objective of preventing, identifying, controlling and eliminating transmission, if it occurs. The plan is in force and all sectors of the country are participating in its implementation and monitoring.
Several courses of action have been established to implement and strengthen the monitoring, investigation and confirmation of COVID-19 cases among travellers from pandemic countries and the identification of their contacts. Intensive and strong monitoring is being carried out at the primary health care level (family physicians), but also at airports, ports and marinas to identify serious cases and outbreaks that could be caused by SARSCov-2 (VOCs-19).
"The best way to win a war is to avoid it".
Fidel Castro
For Cubans, deprived of foreign currency, oil and access to world markets, the best strategy is to PREVENT disease. That is why they have invested so much in training medical personnel and researchers. That is why they have set up the Family Doctor and Nurse Program and why they have created centres of excellence in different areas of health.
This is the case of the Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pedro Kouri (IPK), a national and global centre of excellence for the study of communicable diseases. It develops, among other things, clinical, epidemiological and microbiological research on infectious diseases, the training of national and foreign specialists in this field, hospitalization and case management, as well as monitoring and reference activity.
Regarding the COVID-19 crisis, the IPK is the advisory centre of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). IPK is also the hospital for those who have been in contact with suspected and confirmed cases in its monitoring centre.
With this emergency aid project, mediCuba-Europe and mediCuba-Switzerland want to acquire and send technical and medical equipment to Cuba in order to support the Cuban health system in the fight against Covid-19. The project amounts to approximately 150,000 Swiss francs and includes diagnostic reagents, medical equipment and supplies as well as protective equipment for health personnel!
Our two associations have mobilized their available resources, but they are not able to cover everything. That is why we decided to launch this campaign, all together we can help a people in solidarity to overcome this crisis!
The money collected will be used to buy the material requested by the IPK: these include reagents for molecular diagnosis of cases (confirmation of infection) and serological diagnosis (faster, simpler and cheaper for early and rapid identification of cases). It will also go to purchasing protective equipment for the staff working in the 3 laboratories and for waste disposal.
The requested amount of USD 156,855 will allow the acquisition of reagents and supplies for the diagnosis of 19,020 patients.
From your home, you can help the Cuban people!
Whether big or small, all contributions count in this fight against coronavirus; but above all to support a people that gives the best it has to offer: its solidarity!
mediCuba-Suisse seeks to contribute to the preservation and renovation of health facilities in Cuba and, more broadly, to the protection of advancements in public health. mC-S bases it’s work on the strategies of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health and supports initiatives of partners at the national, regional and local levels.
In Switzerland, mC-S strengthens the links between Cuban and Swiss medical and scientific institutions and informs the public about Cuban social policy.
I am the mediCuba-Suisse coordinator for French-speaking Switzerland. I organize the fundraising and communication activities and I manage our headquarters in Geneva.
Cuba’s approach to health is an amazing example of solidarity and development focused on the human being and the community, which is why I am motivated to help the Cuban people in these difficult times.