A 10-member delegation of the Medical Council of Guyana recently paid an official visit to Cuba with the aim of strengthening Guyana-Cuba relations in the health sector.

The team visited from June 29 to July 8, 2019. This is the first time that the Council has visited Cuba since Guyana and Cuba established diplomatic relations in December 1972. The delegation comprised Dr. Navindra Rambarran, Chairman; Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, Chief Medical Officer; Dr. Frank Anthony; Dr. Mahendra Carpen; Dr. Marisa Seepersaud; Dr. Chris Prashad; Dr. Karen Butters; Ms. Juanita Johnson, Secretary to the Medical Council; Mr. James Bond, Attorney for the Council; and Mr. John Adams, M.P., representative of the Ministry of Public Health.

The delegation held official meetings with high-level representatives of the Calixto Garcia Hospital and the La Pradera International Health Facility, and also toured those medical centres. The delegation met with representatives of the Unidad Central de Collaboracion Medica (UCCM) and a small team from MINSAP, headed by the MINSAP Head of Department responsible for International Training, Dr. Guillermo Perez Esquivel.

Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba, Halim Majeed, said on Sunday, June 30, that the delegation held a formal meeting at the Guyana Embassy with post graduate students, many of whom had issues, queries and comments. “It was a useful encounter and many irritants were settled,” he said. The envoy explained that very important issues relating to the signing of the MOU between the two Ministries of Health, the drafting of a broader Cooperation Agreement, the purchase of pharmaceuticals and vaccines from Cuba, and an annual scientific conference with Cuban assistance were examined.