“Our country is also suffering from the attack by the United States, which seeks to force us not to collaborate with Cuba in any way,” states an article published in the Il Faro di Roma newspaper, signed by Rita Martufi, Salvatore Izzo, and Luciano Vasapollo, members of the Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity (REDH).
“Doctors, Not Bombs: Cuba and Calabria’s Challenge to Criminal US Interference and the Battle for Our Healthcare” is the title of the text about actions in Italy by Mike Hammer, charge d’affaires of the US Embassy in Havana, who met with Calabria Governor Roberto Occhiuto on Monday.
After that meeting, Occhiuto reaffirmed to Hammer that “Cuban doctors remain an indispensable resource to guarantee the stability of the Calabrian healthcare system,” and emphasized the goal of having a thousand of those doctors in the future.
Calabria, one of the poorest regions in Italy, had hospitals and emergency rooms at risk of closure, and entire communities have been deprived of essential healthcare. With the recent support of hundreds of Cuban doctors, this shortage was addressed.
December 26 marked the 3rd anniversary of the arrival in Italy of the first contingent of the Cuban Medical Brigade, an initiative launched by the Calabrian government in response to the serious health crisis facing the region.
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