Cuban medical cooperation in Belize during the fiveyear period 2017 – 2021

Abstract

Introduction: In 59 years of international medical cooperation, Cuba has served in 165 countries with more than 605,698 collaborators. On December 8, 1990, Belize received for the first time the Cuban medical collaboration that has accumulated 32 years of uninterrupted work, including a brigade to face the Covid-19 in March 2020. Objective: To present the results of the Cuban medical cooperation in Belize during the five-year period 2017-2021. Method: A descriptive study was carried out including all the collaborators who provided services in the country in this five-year period. The study variables were: number of collaborators per year, occupational category, medical and paramedical care provided, medical and paramedical care based on Covid-19. Results: The medical brigade has been increasing the number of its members, with the years 2020 and 2021 being the ones with the highest number, at the expense of doctors and nursing staff respectively. The highest amount of cases were seen by doctors, followed by nursing staff. In the areas related to Covid-19, 93,649 medical attentions were performed, 47,308 swabs, which represents 50.5% of the total cases seen, of which 23.4% were taken on the ground. Conclusions: Cuban medical cooperation has played an important role for the Belize Health System by remaining uninterruptedly for 32 years providing medical assistance to the Belizean population. The professionals have been part of the multidisciplinary teams, which has been recognized by the country's main authorities.