CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Fidel and Raul Castro Congratulate Cuban Medical Brigade in Haiti

CUBA, May 16, 2011.- The members of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Haiti received a message of congratulation from the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and from the president of the councils of State and Ministers, Raul Castro.

Delivered by VP Esteban Lazo, the message of congratulation extols the excellent work of the 944 Cuban health professionals who are currently making their contribution in Haiti and fighting an epidemic of cholera that affects this Caribbean nation.

According to Granma newspaper, Lazo headed the Cuban delegation to the swearing-in ceremony of the new president of Haiti, Michael Josef Martelly.

The Cuban official met with more than 50 Cuban specialists at the modern community hospital of Arcahaie —one of 15 operating as part of the Cuba -Venezuela Comprehensive Health Care Program with state-of-the-art technology—, where he learned that his compatriots in Haiti have cured
73,938 locals of cholera.

The director of the hospital, Dr. Teresa Esteba Fernandez, ratified their commitment to continue working to prevent the epidemic from spreading, and
she noted that no deaths caused by cholera have been reported over the last 116 days in the medical facilities under their administration.

Joseph Jean Robert Romain, the director on the Haitian side, said that his compatriots admire the work of the Cuban health professionals and thanked
Cuba for its support.

During his stay in Haiti, Lazo met with Martelly and with the outgoing president, Rene Preval, and vice-president, Jean Max Bellerive. (Cubaminrex-Cuban News Agency)