Cuba and India are already collaborating on diseases
Buisnesswire India, 10
. (“Biocon and CIM to collaborate in Immunology Research Program.”7/12/13. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/biocon-and-cim-to-collaborate-in-immunology-research-program/689021/1. KJ)
Biocon Limited, Asia's premier biotechnology companies, and the Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM), based in Havana, Cuba, have strengthened their existing research partnership by joining forces for an integrated antibody program in immunology. Both entities have successfully collaborated for almost a decade on an integrated program to manufacture and clinically evaluate recombinant proteins with the aim of building a portfolio based on therapeutic biotechnology products for chronic diseases. Two drugs have already been approved for medical use in India and other territories. A novel monoclonal antibody targeting the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor for the treatment of cancer, and the human recombinant Erythropoietin – for the control of anemia in chronic kidney diseases – were developed under stringent medical regulatory standards. ¶ Looking to build on this successful
partnership, Biocon and CIM are moving to create an innovative product pipeline focused on
autoimmune diseases and cancer. Fundamental research performed at CIM and Biocon has defined the anti-inflammatory capacity of a novel monoclonal antibody, an Anti-CD6 Monoclonal Antibody. This molecule targets lymphocytes, the key players in the immuno-pathology of autoimmune diseases.
Experimental data supports its effect in controlling inflammation that can cause damage of tissues.
Research results have been endorsed by scientific journals and discussed in international congresses.
Cuba and Portuguese have medical cooperation already
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. Cuban news. (“Portugal Thanks Cuba for Medical Cooperation.” 7/12/13.http://havanareporternews.com/health-and-science/portugal-thanks-cuba-medical-cooperation. KJ.) Portuguese Health Minister Paulo Macedo praised the medical cooperation that Cuba has provided his country as part of an agreement reached between the two countries in 2009.¶ ¶ At a recent meeting with Cuban Ambassador Eduardo González in Lisbon, Macedo expressed his government’s gratitude for the work that has been carried out by a brigade of 44 Cuban doctors, and he praised their devotion and professionalism.¶ ¶ Portuguese doctors have spoken to the high level of their Cuban colleagues, he said. And the Cuban doctors’ professionalism also has been recognized by the local population, he added. For all of these reasons, Portuguese authorities decided to renew the bilateral agreement, Macedo said.¶ ¶ The 44 Cuban doctors all have more than 10 years’ experience as specialists in general family medicine, and each one of them has worked in another country at least once before as part of a similar brigade, Cuban diplomatic sources told Prensa Latina. In Portugal, the Cuban physicians are providing health services in the southern rural regions of Algarve and Alentejo, which are densely populated and have a shortage of primary medical care. Macedo told González that the Health
Department was conducting a detailed study of the national health system with the goal of determining exactly how many doctors are needed to cover all areas of services for citizens.¶ ¶ González offered all of the experience that Cuba has acquired in the health field, which has enabled the island country to attain health rates similar to those of First World countries, despite difficult economic conditions that have been exacerbated by a 50-year-long U.S. blockade.
Cuba and Brazil increase Medical cooperations
Havana Times, 5/6
. (“Cuba to Send 6000 Doctors to Brazil.” 7/12/13.http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=92627. KJ.)
HAVANA TIMES — Some 6,000 Cuban doctors will soon travel to Brazil to work in poor areas with a precarious health situation, the two governments decided today in Brasilia, reported DPA news. The negotiation of the agreement, carried out with the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), was announced after the meeting held in Brasilia of Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, and his Brazilian counterpart, Antonio Patriota. “We are organizing to receive a larger number of doctors here, to face the shortage of medical professionals in Brazil. Such cooperation has great potential, and we assign strategic value to it,” said the Brazilian minister. According to Patriota, details about how the Cuban doctors will work in Brazil still must be defined including whether they will receive a permanent or temporary residence visa: “We are still finalizing the understandings so that they (the doctors) can perform their professional activity in Brazil.” No mention was made whether the Cuban physicians would be allowed to travel with their families. The Cuban foreign minister highlighted the growing importance of the relationship between his country and Brazil, especially in the social areas, tourism and economic development: “There is an excellent exchange of ideas,” said Rodriguez.
According to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, during his visit to Brasilia, Rodriguez and discussed various issues of the bilateral and regional agenda, with emphasis on “development support and
cooperation.”
Cuba increasing their medical relations in 68 countries, helping Cuban soft power and economy
Global Insider, 5/16. (“Global Insider: Cuba Sends Doctors to Brazil as Bilateral Ties Grow.” 7/12/13.
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/12956/global-insider-cuba-sends-doctors-to-brazil-as-bilateral-ties-grow. KJ)
WPR: What is the extent of Cuba’s medical diplomacy in terms of numbers of doctors sent abroad and the benefits Cuba receives in return?¶ John M. Kirk: Cuba has been sending medical personnel abroad since 1960. At present there are some 39,000 Cuban medical personnel—including 15,000 doctors, approximately 20 percent of Cuba’s physicians—serving abroad in 68 countries. In Venezuela alone there are 32,000 Cuban medical personnel, 11,000 of them physicians. The export of professional, mainly medical, services is Cuba’s largest single source of hard currency, accounting for some $6 billion in 2012. Cuba has one doctor for every 170 patients, compared to one doctor per 390 patients in the United States, and continues to graduate large numbers of doctors. There is thus a surplus of trained medical personnel in Cuba, and this will continue to be a primary source of income.¶ In addition, because many of the medical services are provided free or at greatly reduced rates to developing nations, Cuba receives major diplomatic support, generating “soft power.” Finally, Cuban doctors receive
significantly greater salaries for working abroad, which helps to compensate for the inverted social pyramid in Cuba, where their pay is poor. ¶ WPR: What is the significance of the plan to send doctors to Brazil?¶ Kirk: This strengthens bilateral ties, as well as the growing unity in Latin America. Brazil is Cuba’s second-largest trading partner in the region, and has invested $680 million in the construction of the Mariel port west of Havana, as well as giving credits of $176 million for modernizing five Cuban airports, which is needed, as tourism in Cuba reaches 3 million foreign visitors this year.¶ In terms of trade between Cuba and Brazil, which has increased sevenfold in the past decade, the plan will help to reduce the imbalance: $560 million of the $662 million in bilateral trade in 2012 were Brazilian
exports. Some 300 Brazilian companies are exporting to Cuba; the construction company Odebrecht is involved in a number of projects; and government ministers from both countries have made protocol visits. The relationship will continue to strengthen, with Cuba recognizing Brazil’s rapidly growing economy, and Brazil recognizing Cuba’s enormous political influence in the region.¶ WPR: How is Cuba’s gradual reform program likely to affect its medical policy going forward?¶ Kirk: Cuba’s exports of biotechnology and pharmaceutical products generated $700 million in 2012, but are expected to quintuple in value in the next five years. The Communist Party of Cuba has indicated the export of both medical services and biotechnology as prime growth areas for the economy, and indeed several Persian Gulf oil states have also hired large numbers of Cuban doctors. Cuba’s exports of medical goods and services will continue to increase greatly, and remain the anchor of the Cuban economy.
Trade
The movement of people, war, and trade increases the spread of diseases.
Aagaard-Hansen & Lise Chaignat 10
, Jens: Head of health promotion at Steno diabetes center, Member of the Training Strengthening Committee (TSC) Steering Committee, Geneva, Switzerland for TDR – Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases UNICEF/UNDP/UNICEF/World Bank/WHO; Claire: in charge Global Task Force on Cholera Control at World Health Organization (Jens, Claire, “Neglected tropical diseases: equity and social determinants.” 7/12/13.http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/Social_determinants_NTD.pdf. KJ)
“The movement of people between countries now accounts for approximately 130 million people (2% of the world’s population) per year”, and in “the mid1980s, one billion people, or about one sixth of the world’s population, moved within their own countries”(48 ). Migration may be temporary or
permanent and includes the movements of nomads, refugees, labour migrants and people subjected to forced resettlement.Examples from West Africa show how water resource development schemes lead to both planned and unplanned migration (63 ). Refugees may flee to neighbouring countries or to other areas within their own country (internally displaced persons), and the latter are often more vulnerable because they are not covered by international humanitarian laws and organizations.
Health services, including control programmes for migrating populations, face particular logistic problems and are usually inadequate or absent (64–66). Negative health implications of war have been shown in Uganda and Sudan (67 ). Breakdown of health systems during conflict may be coincidental or purposive, as in the case of the Contra War in Nicaragua in the 1980s, when health facilities and staff were directly targeted (68 ).A historical overview of cholera transmission in Africa during the seventh pandemic (1970–1991) shows the association with migration and refugees (69 ).
Cholera epidemics have been associated with the conflictinduced movement of refugees from Mozambique to Malawi (70 ) and from Rwanda to the Democratic¶ Republic of the Congo (48 ).The trade and movement of goods can also lead to the dissemination of parasites and vectors (61, 64).
There is¶ evidence for the spread of Aedes albopictus from northern¶ Asia to North America via used tyres (71 ). This has¶ implications for transmission of dengue fever and other¶ arboviruses.