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Cuban Medical Brigade to Lead Study on Disabilities in Ecuador

CUBA, September 8, 2009. Cuban Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer handed down a Cuban flag to the second medical brigade from the island leaving to Ecuador this Tuesday to participate in the “Manuela Espejo” social program and to continue a study on the disabled people of that country.

The disability study is part of an agreement signed between Cuban officials and Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, during this year’s first visit of the head of state to the Caribbean archipelago.

The 174-member brigade includes masters on genetic advice, experts on clinical genetics, neurophysiologists, neuro-pediatricians, psychologists and nurses, among others.

Balaguer gave the flag, as a symbol of the official inauguration of the brigade, to one of the members of the group, Sara Lidia Romero, defectology expert who participated in a similar research previously carried out in Venezuela.

Balaguer expressed his absolute confidence in the Cuban collaborators and said: “You will fulfill the mission you have undertaken. You will not only carry out a scientific work but also you will be carrying out a Revolution to show that a better world is possible.”

The Cuban minister extolled the international humanitarian work led by Cuban health experts across the world that give people hope and contribute to integration.

The brigade will join other 62 Cuban experts who have been in Ecuador since June working on the same program, which is unique in the world and has yielded excellent results so far.

Cuban Deputy Health Minister Marcia Cobas announced that research in the Ecuadorian provinces of Cotopaxi and Carchi have concluded, while two days ago it started in Esmeralda. The goal is to expand the study to all the regions of the country.

Early this Tuesday, Balaguer saw off 64 Cuban health experts who flew to Venezuela and another 10 who left to Gabon, Africa; both groups are on a humanitarian mission. (Cubaminrex- ACN)