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Gail Reed

Gail A. Reed is the International Director of Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC) a non-profit organization working to enhance cooperation among the U.S., Cuban and global health communities aimed at better health outcomes.

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February 9th, 2010 4:53 PM

By Gail Reed

Since the tragic earthquake struck Haiti, Cuban-trained Haitian doctors and Cuban medical personnel have been saving lives on the front lines. Now 400-strong, they were already on the ground when disaster struck, serving in 120 communities throughout the country, including the hard-hit capital of Port-au-Prince.

The effects of the disastrous earthquake will be long term. That's why MEDICC is organizing a recovery and long-term medical assistance program, sending material aid directly to the Cuban-trained Haitian doctors on the front lines in Haiti's public hospitals and clinics. Graduates of the Latin American Medical School in Cuba, these doctors come from some of Haiti's poorest regions, and will stay long after the initial disaster response is over. Like the Cuban medical personnel who work with them, they are committed for the long-term to improving health and health care in Haiti.

Medicines, surgical instruments, equipment and supplies obtained with MEDICC donor support will reach the Cuban-trained Haitian doctors through a partnership with the Pittsburgh-based non-profit, Global Links, which has decades of experience sending material aid to countries such as Haiti and Cuba through the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

We need your help to raise the funds for this joint effort. Haiti's young doctors need your support now.

Donations can be made at online at http://www.medicc.org/ and checks can be sent to MEDICC, P.O. Box 361449, Decatur, GA 30036.

A generous grant from The Christopher Reynolds Foundation will match individual donations, doubling even the smallest donation.

To date, Cuban-trained and Cuban medical personnel have treated more than 50,000 quake victims, and performed over 3,400 surgeries. Recent reinforcements to the teams include 60 Haitian medical students from ELAM, who are carrying out health education in public parks and "tent cities" of Port-au-Prince to prevent outbreaks of disease, and vaccinating with the 400,000 doses of tetanus vaccine donated by Cuba.

Become a fan of MEDICC on Facebook for the latest developments. Follow MEDICC on Twitter.

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