海角大神

Cuba has a聽long history of exporting doctors and nurses, ever since its 1959 revolution led by communist leader Fidel Castro. So when Ebola struck in West Africa, Cuba was quick to step up to the plate.聽In recent weeks, it has dispatched 165 health workers to Sierra Leone, making it the largest nation-provider of medial professionals working to help contain the epidemic. And it's preparing to send聽another nearly 300 workers to Liberia and Guinea in the coming weeks.聽

More than 4,000 people have died from Ebola and nearly 9,000 have contracted the disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Those numbers are predicted to grow at a rapid pace if Ebola is not contained: WHO has forecast that聽West Africa could see 10,000 new cases a week by December.

While financial aid and other support like food and security have trickled into the region as the world wakes up to the threat posed by Ebola, human resources are in highest demand.聽鈥淢oney and materials are important, but those two things alone cannot stop Ebola virus transmission,鈥� Margaret Chan, director-general at the WHO said late last month.

鈥淲e need most especially compassionate doctors and nurses 鈥� working under very demanding conditions.鈥�

The US is the biggest financial donor to the fight against Ebola, pledging $400 million in aid and sending some 4,000 troops to the region. But in terms of trained healthcare workers, its contribution has been 65 uniformed officers from the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, reports The Wall Street Journal.聽

Cuba is "punching above its weight," when it comes to the fight against Ebola, reports The Washington Post. The island nation of 11 million isn't wealthy; its GDP per capita is less than one-sixth that of Britain's.聽

"The little we have, we share. Our principle resource is human capital,鈥� Dr. Jorge Perez Avila, the director of the Pedro Kouri Institute for Tropical Medicine in Havana, told CNN.

Deploying doctors聽

This is the first time Cuban doctors have mobilized to fight Ebola, and Cuban state media reports that some 15,000 health professionals have expressed an interest in traveling to West African nations to help.

Under Castro, Cuba nationalized its healthcare system and inserted a constitutional guarantee of free healthcare for all. As a result, health indicators on the island have greatly improved, reports The Washington Post.

Havana regularly sends medical aid and teams of healthcare workers to nations suffering natural disasters. The Post writes that health workers are 鈥渦p there with rum and cigars in terms of Cuban exports.鈥�

• Soon after its revolution, Cuba sent doctors to Chile to help the nation recover from a deadly 1960 earthquake.
• Cuba sent 2,500 health workers to Pakistan after an earthquake in 2005.
• 1,500 Cuban health professionals traveled to Haiti after its 2010 earthquake.
• Some 30,000 Cubans currently work in Venezuela鈥檚 health system; Cuba is partially paid in oil for its contribution.聽
• An estimated 4,500 Cuban doctors are currently supplementing Brazil鈥檚 public health system in rural parts of the country or undesirable city neighborhoods.

鈥淲e work on malaria, cholera, dengue, a disaster situation, floods in Venezuela, floods in Guatemala, floods in Belize,鈥� Jorge Delgado Bustillo, head of the Cuban Medical Brigade to Sierra Leone, told The Wall Street Journal.

Mixed response to Cuban doctors

Although Cuban doctors are known around the world for their service, their reception abroad is not always warm.

According to 海角大神, when Brazil announced its Mais Medicos program, which brings thousands of foreign doctors 鈥� including many Cuban 鈥� to work in areas lacking medical personnel, there was resistance from Brazilian health professionals.

In Venezuela, criticism of Cuban care often falls along class lines, with wealthier citizens sharing tales of botched procedures or faulty diagnoses. However, Cuban doctors and nurse mostly practice in slums where the poorest live. In 2005, a reporter for the Monitor saw 鈥渇irst-hand why the Cuban doctors working in Venezuela [were] so effective at creating goodwill between the two countries.鈥�

To be sure, fighting Ebola will take more than a friendly doctor. Doctors were trained by WHO-standards in Cuba before arriving in Sierra Leone. But there were still some cultural issues that needed to be checked upon arrival.聽

鈥淭hey鈥檙e a very cuddly people,鈥� Katrina Roper, a technical officer with the UN told The Wall Street Journal. The Cuban professionals were shaking each other's hands and hugging at their welcome ceremony. Ebola is transferred through bodily fluids, including sweat; public health campaigns in West Africa have tried to discourage hugging and embracing.聽鈥淭omorrow will be me explaining why they have to stop shaking hands and sharing things,鈥� Ms. Roper said.