aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Doctors trained in Cuba to serve poor in the U.S.
Eight US students have graduated from a Cuban medical school after completing a six-year study programme funded by the country’s communist government.
The eight came to Cuba as part of a deal agreed between President Fidel Castro and members of Washington’s Congressional Black Caucus.
Under the plan, Cuba offers students from deprived backgrounds full scholarships, including accommodation.
They are meant to return to the US to offer low-cost healthcare. [...]
According to the Cuban authorities, more than 80 young US students are currently receiving training at the Latin American Medical School in Havana, whose qualifications are recognised by the World Health Organization.
Cuba’s free healthcare system has been a key foreign policy tool for winning hearts and minds in the developing world, our correspondent says.
The government has sent tens of thousands of Cuban doctors abroad to help some of the world’s poorest communities.
It also trains large numbers of foreign doctors on the island.
