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The prestige achieved by Cuba’s public healthcare system has turned the country into an extraordinary international crowd-puller in terms of scientific events and activities

The public healthcare-related achievements on the largest Caribbean island have made headlines around the world because of its impact and the same questions always come up: How can a Third World country, short of resources, have one of the highest life expectancy rates in the region?
How has it become the first country to certify the elimination of mother-to-child HIV vertical transmission and congenital syphilis, according to the World Health Organization, and maintain these indicators? How has it been able to eliminate malaria, since 1970, and other 12 immune-preventable diseases? How can it have a child mortality rate of barely 4 per each thousand newborns and still work to go farther?
That reality, the prestige of the Cuban healthcare system: universal, accessible, free; along with the interest of professionals from other nations to get in touch with it, feel its strengths, take a closer look at the work carried out by several specialized centers and internationally renowned institutions, as well as the appeal and people of this Caribbean island, have turned Cuba into an extraordinary international crowd-puller in terms of scientific events and activities.
The country annually hosts important events related to health sciences, such medical specialties as epidemiology, social and community medicine; with venues ranging from universities to institutions and hotels.
In different formats –congresses, seminars or symposiums – both at national and territorial levels, the scientific development in the sector is in line with such reflections as: What is our target health level?; What can we do at international level to get closer to providing medical care to all?; How to focus healthcare-related knowledge and scientific-technical advances on the wellness of our people?
This reality does not go unnoticed. It is backed up by scientific events related to the main seven business modes included in the portfolio of Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos, S.A.
The program of events scheduled for 2018 includes: 1st International Medical Tourism Congress, 2nd International Meeting on Disaster-related Medical Response, International Meeting on Community Medicine, 2nd International Meeting on Addictive-Disorder Rehabilitation, Workshop on Health Science Human Resource Training. People interested in attending any event can ask for the inscription: eventos@smcsalud.cu
On the other hand the 3rd Cuba-Salud International Convention is also a privileged space to share experiences, know-how and establish alliances that, under the Global Health for Sustainable Development slogan, redound to the health benefit of the world population.
On April 23-27, 2018, delegations from over 88 countries will gather at Havana’s Convention Center to talk about transmissible and non-transmissible diseases, social determination of health, primary care, family medicine, medical education, health economy and efficiency, as well as international medical collaboration, among other topics.
This event will be attended by some 70 high-level delegations, more than 50 of which are going to be headed by ministers from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Asia; as well as over 150 boldface names from the healthcare field, including presidents of medical societies, representatives of international networks, university rectors and presidents of companies devoted to the development of technologies in this field.
“Organized by MINSAP, this convention puts together all of the achievements and scientific life of the organism and the sector in the country. Coupled with scientific societies and other outstanding institutions, this ministry annually develops some 600-700 events. In 2017, over 680 were reported and nearly a hundred were international congresses and symposiums,” Mrs. Ileana Morales Suarez, director of Science and Technological Innovation, Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP is the Spanish acronym), detailed.
“For the PHO/WHO, 2018 Cuba-Salud stands out as one of the scenarios that gather the highest number of health ministers in the world, right after the World Health Assembly and the PHO Board of Directors,” Morales Furihman pointed out and underscored the presence of the WHO director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and the PHO director, Mrs. Carissa Etienne.
Salud para Todos Trade Fair is also highly prestigious and its 14th edition is scheduled to simultaneously take place at Pabexpo fairground, with the presence of around 30 countries and an interesting scientific program; the executive secretary of both events underlined.
This is the utmost trade fair of the sector, in which over 20 Cuban healthcare institutions market their medical services, such as Cira Garcia Central Clinic, Siboney International Clinic, La Pradera International Healthcare Center, and Camilo Cienfuegos International Clinic.
The biggest stand, covering 200 m2, is Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos S.A. (CSMC S.A.)’s, where twenty new products and services will be launched in different business modes: medical and healthcare services in Cuba; medical and professional services overseas; academic services and events; services in optics, drugstores, natural and traditional medicine; and quality of life service.
As a new element, this edition will host the first forum on foreign investment, organized by Cuba’s Chamber of Commerce, with the aim set on fostering negotiations with CSMC S.A. and BioCubaFarma. The objective, as detailed by Mrs. Niurka Marsan, specialist of the promoting group in the Chamber of Commerce, is to attract pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies, healthcare centers, risk capital funds, research and development…, in a bid to materialize several projects.
“We can all learn from each other. That’s what this is all about, putting people in the center of our healthcare systems,” Mrs. Ileana Morales Suarez expressed.