Cuba’s medical cooperation in Guyana began in 1976, and since then, more than 3,700 Cuban medical professionals have completed missions in that country. Today there are 200 professionals there, although in recent years, as far back as 2006, there were only dozens. The Cuban doctors ostensibly helped meet the lack of doctors in Guyana, but the problem remains, due mainly to Guyana’s doctors emigrating to neighboring countries because of low salaries at home. The contracting of Cuban doctors to make up for this lack creates a vicious circle that not only does not solve, but exacerbates, the problem given the low wages these receive ($600-700 per month), against which Guyanese doctors who receive $1,000 per month cannot compete (and when they can be paid more, for example, around $2,500 per month in the U.S.). The Cuban doctors, who charge a fraction of what Guyanese doctors charge, have even been accused of soliciting additional payments patients. The language barrier is also a problem for the provision of medical care, given that the Cuban doctors rotate out of Guyana every two years. It is clear that Guyana has difficulty retaining domestic doctors but it does not address this problem because of the Cuban “solution,” even if it makes the professionals indentured workers and with deficient services due to language barriers and lack of continuity.
Anonymous: 3, through questionnaires | Documented violations: Yes | Not anonymous: None Public (media): 3 |
Findings: More than 64 work hours per week; confiscation of passports and of signed contracts; constant monitoring; impediments to obtaining licenses and prohibition on driving; imposition of a curfew; residences with many deficiencies; retaliation against colleagues and falsification of statistics; and numerous violations stemming from Resolution 168. The Cuban government pays the doctors $700 per month, keeping for itself four to five times that amount |
NAMES OF CHIEFS OF MISSIONS
(Pending)
RELEVANT NEWS ARTICLES AND OTHER ITEMS
Cuba y Guyana afianzan sus relaciones históricas
Ministra de Salud de Guyana destaca importancia de la cooperación médica cubana
Tres médicos cubanos habrían escapado de Guyana
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