After the severe devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the Caribbean island offered medical aid to the United States, but the government rejected it despite the complex situation its population was facing.

A few days later, on September 19, 2005, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution set up this brigade, with heroes who have fought pandemics and natural disasters worldwide, in both developing and developed nations, bringing life, solidarity, and hope.

Although the official founding date was 21 years ago, the Caribbean nation had already deployed health professionals to several countries.

For instance, when an earthquake devastated Chile in 1960, 25 doctors arrived.

From 1960 to 2005, some 30 medical brigades have been formed to assist in 19 countries, confronting hurricanes, earthquakes, epidemics, and even the fury of volcanoes, according to data presented during last year’s commemoration.

The contingent is named after Henry Reeve (1850–1876), a US citizen who joined the Caribbean island’s struggle for independence against Spanish colonialism during the second half of the 19th century.

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