Month: February 2015

Does health begin at home and spread abroad? – Cuba’s Public Health Paradox

Posted on by pols104project

The Cuban medical professionals in Sierra Leone.

The Cuban medical professionals in Sierra Leone.

 

The contingent of Cuban medical professionals that traveled to Sierra Leone has reportedly helped cure 260 patients infected with the Ebola virus who were in serious condition. The 164 Cuban health workers were dispatched to 4 different treatment centers in the country. ACN provided a glowing report in regards to their efforts.

La Granma (the Official Party Publication) published a story about the medical professionals when they departed last October. They reported that there were 102 nurses and 63 doctors participating on the trip and over 80% at served on previous international health missions in other African countries.

Cuba is known for it’s medical contributions to the international community. Currently, there over 11,000 Cuban health care professionals participating in Brazil’s Mais Medicos program to alleviate the massive strain on Brazil’s medical infrastructure. While the report hailed the important and valuable work that members of the Cuban medical community were doing, there was no reflection on the pressing concerns for public health in Cuba.

One of the most shocking concerns that Cubanet reported are the discrepancies between the calls for an ambulance to be dispatched and the arrival of an ambulance. This has happened on multiple occasions and a shortage of ambulances for use is central to the problem. One elderly woman passed away when an ambulance was called at 11:00am and did not arrive until 6:00pm. Another woman who was 101 years old had to wait from 10:00am to 9:00pm to be transferred to the hospital for treatment of pneumonia.

A Ministry of Public Health official from the Playa municipality spoke anonymously and said that the Cuban Ministry of Public Health has a large fleet of ambulances that would eliminate these issues. While the ambulances might be owned by the Ministry of Public Health, they are not being dispatched for most Cubans. Hospital workers reported that only Cubans who are receiving expedited or timely ambulance service are those who are admitted under police control.

This past week researchers from the University of Leuven in Belgium discovered a new strain of HIV in Cuba. This strain is significantly more aggressive than common HIV strains. Those infected are developing AIDS in a three year time frame versus the typical ten year period. This has received significant international attention as it presents a potentially massive public health crisis. The sample size for the study conducted was relatively small with only 95 patients.

As Cuba is receiving more international attention, especially in the field of health and science will this international focus change or create state responses to these critical and lethal health disparities.

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2014-10-02/raul-bids-farewell-to-medical-brigade-headed-to-sierra-leone

http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/science/2523-cuban-physicians-cure-260-ebola-patients-in-sierra-leone

http://www.cubanet.org/destacados/la-muerte-viaja-en-ambulancia/

Is the Medium the Message ? – The Case of Cuban Rap and Hip-Hop

Posted on by pols104project

Cuban rap and hip-hop have a rich history rooted in a political and societal context. Most importantly, Cuban rap and hip-hop have been avenues to discuss systemic racial oppression of Black Cubans and criticism about the current goverment.

This past week, Cuban rap and hip-hop artists have been speaking out about something different. Many are responding to the Associated Press‘ report about USAID involvement in the community and industry that prompted the Cuban government to release similar information in regards to the AP report. USAID hired a contractor, Creative Associates to plan a musical festival in Cuba to promote rappers and organize artists who were in opposition to the government and Rajko Bozic, a Serbian music promoter.  Many of the artists were not aware of the USAID’s involvement and were recruited in order to raise their profiles to the community as a method to highlight their messages. The rap group Los Aldeanos was one of the major targets for the recruitment for public exposure, the plan backfired. A member of Los Aldeanos was detained by Cuban authorities for othe illegal possession of a copmuter after a concert. Los Aldeanos have since moved to the United States to continue creating music.

As a result of this investigative journalism, artists in Cuba are more stifled and their music has been repressed with serious impacts on the safety and possiblity of continuing to pursue their work at home. Regardless of invovlement with the USAID program, Cuban hip-hop and rap artists are now under the microscope.

ACN, one of the state affiliated newspapers reported that the USAID invovlement was “a covert method to destabilize the country” through using Cuban musicians in the pursuit of social change. The Huffington Post was cited in the article for information on the USAID programs.

Cubanet interviewed Raudel Callozo (pictured on the left) to comment on the situation for artists affected by this investigation. Raudel Callozo, a member of the group Patriot Squadron who is notorious for his critiques of the Cuban reality spoke to Cubanet about the accusations and expressed that he did not participate in a USAID program and defended other Cuban rappers for accepting money for their music. Callozo is currently one of the top blacklisted Cuban rap/hip-hop artists in the country.

Callozo said “And I can assure you that we will continue questioning, we will continue criticizing through our songs, and that is the essence of our music. And whatever happens, we are on track to build, maintain a critical voice as we have always done creatively. Our intention is not to confront, but we must make clear our position. ”

Cuban rap and hip-hop artists like Callozo are focused on maintaining their space as Cubans critiquing the state. The invovlement of the USAID in the industry suggests that the formation of political and social referenda is possible through the medium of hip-hop and rap.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ce2a878ea7a941fb93fe718ee6d46e9e/us-co-opted-cubas-hip-hop-scene-spark-change

http://www.cubanet.org/actualidad/actualidad-destacados/fuego-y-contra-fuego-del-hip-hop-cubano/

http://www.cubanet.org/actualidad/actualidad-destacados/raperos-cubanos-contestan-a-la-ap-y-al-gobierno-de-castro/

http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/world/2142-another-usaid-anti-cuba-covert-plan-is-exposed

http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/12/11/why-usaid-got-into-bed-with-cuban-rappers/

Who’s Streaming It Anyway? – Netflix’s Cuban Expansion

Posted on by pols104project

Image from Tech Crunch

Image from Tech Crunch

Today, Netflix announced that they would that their online video streaming service would now be available for $7.99 a month in Cuba. Access to the service requires an international payment method and internet access. Netflix has now become the first U.S based company to enter the Cuban market following the relaxed trade restrictions following talks with Cuba and the United States.

The two major barriers that render this extension of Netflix’s online subscriptions to Cuban residents a gesture of economic diplomacy are the cost of a Netflix subscription and the limited access to internet for the Cuban population. Netflix’s expansion of service to Cuba reflects the company’s plan of global conquest to provide streaming services in every country by 2016.

First, the $7.99 USD subscription fee is equivalent to almost one-fourth of the average salary in Cuba which is 471 pesos or $20 a month according to the National Statistics and Information Office. Cubanet reported that home internet connections were prohibited for most Cubans and the charges in government run internet cafes to browse the web were extremely high. The CIA World Factbook records that the ownership of computer by private citizens is illegal. From a financial standpoint, the returns from Netflix’s decision to extend operations to Cuba seem minimal as most citizens face economic barriers to online activity. These barriers are rooted in a significant lack of disposable income for a product that would consume one-fourth of a monthly salary for average Cubans and the significant cost to access an internet connection.

Secondly, most Cubans do not have immediate access to an internet connection, especially not connections that are free or inexpensive. Around 27% (3,090,796) of Cubans have access to internet according to the International Telecommunication Union. Currently, there are 5,360 broadband internet subscribers in the country. Additionally, the average browser loading time for desktops in Cuba is 59.2 seconds in comparison to 5.7 seconds in the United States. Connectivity in the government run internet cafes are extremely slow and as previously mentioned, very costly.

According to the CIA, the Cuban government owns and controls all broadcast media in the country including radio and television. Netflix announced that they were not working with the Cuban government in the selection of content for Cuban subscribers, but clients would have access to a “curated” selection presumably with similar programming found for other Latin American countries with Netflix.

The decision to expand Netflix’s streaming operations to include Cuba is figurative and allows Netflix to become the FIRST in different avenues in the avenues of Cuba/U.S trade are slowly opened. This story was largely reported on non-Cuban news outlets. The only Cuban affiliated news outlet that reported Netflix’s service announcement was Cubanet which operates in Florida with submissions from Cuban journalists. Granma, ACN, and other Cuban news sources did not report this story.

http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users-by-country/

http://www.eltiempo.com/entretenimiento/cine-y-tv/netflix-en-cuba/15220395

https://pr.netflix.com/WebClient/getNewsSummary.do?newsId=1896

http://www.cubanet.org/noticias/netlix-comienza-a-ofrecer-su-servicio-en-cuba/

The Mais Médicos Controversy

Posted on by pols104project

The Mais Médicos program run by the Brazilian government seeks to relieve the shortage of doctors and medical treatment in the country. According to the World Health Organization, Brazil has one of the lowest doctors to resident ratios at 1.9 doctors per 1000 residents. Cuban physicians have been involved in efforts to increase access to healthcare in Brazil. Out of the 14,462 doctors working for the program, 11,429 are Cubans. These doctors are working in Brazil under contract with the União (the Brazilian Federal Government) for a three year increments. On January 15th, ACN (a Cuban news source) announced the Brazilian government’s intent to expand the Mas Médicos program.

The doctors practicing in Brazil were notified on January 29th, 2015 that if their family member abroad did not return before February 1st, they would face expulsion from Mais Médicos by the Cuban Ministry of Public Health. Brazil issued valid 36 month visas to the family members of the doctors. The Ministry of Health has decreed that family members cannot legally remain in Brazil.

Initially, it was reported that Dr. Marina de la Torre, the Director for International Cooperation in the Ministry of who organized members of the Cuban medical community for participation stated that they were looking for couples who both practiced medicine, but if a partner was not a doctor there would be no contest with their departure as long as they funded their trip to Brazil.

This information was disseminated to various websites through a letter written by the doctors in Brazil. In the letter, the doctors asked for journalists to publish their stories and raise international and domestic awareness about their hope to remain with their family members in Brazil. The letter mentioned the importance of Cuban doctors to the Cuban economy as a result of this medical partnership and that their commitment to the Cuba should be respected. The Cuban government received $270 million for participation in the program. Additionally, Brazilian exports to Cuba have been increasing following participation in Mais Médicos.

On state supported websites such as the Ministry of Health’s page and Granma there are no mentions of the Mais Médicos program or the Ministry of Health’s demands that spouses return. As Cuba prepares for a change in relations with the United States, international media attention on Cuban affairs has increased significantly. Public information about Cuban involvement in the Mais Médicos program save for the blog posts that released and referenced the letters from the doctors was limited or from 2014.

http://cubanews.cubaverdad.net/2015/02/a-cuban-health-alert/

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=109009

http://www.cubanet.org/noticias/medicos-cubanos-en-brasil-reciben-amenazas-del-gobierno-de-cuba/

http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2015/01/29/p1/cuban-doctors-in-brazil-are-demanding-help-from-the-international-press-to-avoid-separ

http://qz.com/234561/the-story-behind-cubas-deal-to-send-doctors-to-brazil/

http://www.peoplesworld.org/cuban-medical-professionals-working-around-the-world/

http://www.sld.cu/

http://peoplesworld.org/cuban-doctors-attend-to-brazil-s-underserved/

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=102147