TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
FACTS
Health workers: 52
Other: 154
Cumulative: 1,200
Mission status: Active
Other: 154
Cumulative: 1,200
Mission status: Active
AGREEMENTS
MOST RECENT AGREEMENT
DURATION: +17 years
STARTED: 2003
AGREEMENT SIGNER: Trinidad and
Tobago’s Ministry of Public Health
PREVIOUS AGREEMENTS
Compensated Technical Assistance
Program (bilateral agreement signed 2003)
DURATION: +17 years
STARTED: 2003
AGREEMENT SIGNER: Trinidad and
Tobago’s Ministry of Public Health
PREVIOUS AGREEMENTS
Compensated Technical Assistance
Program (bilateral agreement signed 2003)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Geographic areas: 5 regional health
authorities: North West, North Central,
South-West, Eastern, and Tobago
Health areas: Emphasis on
gastroenterology, general internal
medicine, anesthesia, general, plastic and
reconstructive surgery, ophthalmology,
intensive medicine, internal medicine,
pulmonologist, neurology, cardiology,
epidemiology, pediatrics, immunology,
orthopedics, allergists,
otorhinolaryngology, neurophysiology,
oncology, hematology; various nursing
specialists and pharmacists
Documented Cases: YES
Documented Agreement: No
Current facts:
• Active personnel: 206
• Defections: 40 (estimated)
• Did not return to Cuba: 40 (estimated)
• Prohibited from returning: 50 (estimated)
Official statistics available: Yes
Most relevant violations: Workers live
in groups so they can be monitored; they
cannot have relationships with nationals, or
go out at night, or drive vehicles, or travel
to other cities. They are prohibited from
practicing medicine outside of the mission
authorities: North West, North Central,
South-West, Eastern, and Tobago
Health areas: Emphasis on
gastroenterology, general internal
medicine, anesthesia, general, plastic and
reconstructive surgery, ophthalmology,
intensive medicine, internal medicine,
pulmonologist, neurology, cardiology,
epidemiology, pediatrics, immunology,
orthopedics, allergists,
otorhinolaryngology, neurophysiology,
oncology, hematology; various nursing
specialists and pharmacists
Documented Cases: YES
Documented Agreement: No
Current facts:
• Active personnel: 206
• Defections: 40 (estimated)
• Did not return to Cuba: 40 (estimated)
• Prohibited from returning: 50 (estimated)
Official statistics available: Yes
Most relevant violations: Workers live
in groups so they can be monitored; they
cannot have relationships with nationals, or
go out at night, or drive vehicles, or travel
to other cities. They are prohibited from
practicing medicine outside of the mission
SUMMARY
Cuba’s medical cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago began on July 23, 2003, with the arrival of the first group of doctors and nurses through the Compensated Technical Assistance Program. This cooperation was renewed through individual contracts for each worker with the Ministry of Public Health of Trinidad and Tobago. Around 1,200 medical workers have completed missions in Trinidad and Tobago. Today there are 206 workers in the country. The professionals work mainly in Hospital General de Puerto España, Hospital de San Fernando, Hospital de Sangre Grande, Hospital de Point Fortin, Hospital Erick Williams and Hospital Scarborough, Tobago. In addition, they work in 95 healthcare centers throughout the country. Depending on qualifications and specialties, the Cuban medical workers receive between $1,600 and $5,300 per contract—60 times what a doctor makes in Cuba and 180 times the average monthly salary in the island ($20). Still, even when the workers are paid directly by the host government, they are forced to transfer half of their salary into an account that is under the name of the chief of the mission, as demonstrated by an investigation by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting into the way the medical brigades operation. (1)
DOCUMENTED CASES
Anonymous: 3, through questionnaires.
Documented Violations: No
Not anonymous: None
Findings from cases: Strictly monitored in their physical location and forced to live
in groups where they can monitor each other, in addition to violations stemming
from Resolution 168 and retention by the government of fifty percent of their salary.
Documented Violations: No
Not anonymous: None
Findings from cases: Strictly monitored in their physical location and forced to live
in groups where they can monitor each other, in addition to violations stemming
from Resolution 168 and retention by the government of fifty percent of their salary.
NAMES OF CHIEFS OF MISSIONS
Dr. Laura Pujols, Coordinator for Cuban Medical Brigade in Trinidad and Tobago (2)
RELEVANT NEWS ARTICLES AND OTHER ITEMS
La Brigada Médica en Trinidad y Tobago: Antecedentes históricos de la
colaboración
Colaboradores cubanos en Trinidad y Tobago contra el Covid-19
La Brigada Médica Cubana (BMC) en Trinidad y Tobago a la vanguardia en
la prevención contra el CoronaVirus
Trinidad y Tobago: quehacer de la brigada médica cubana
Other media may be available in the repository
colaboración
Colaboradores cubanos en Trinidad y Tobago contra el Covid-19
La Brigada Médica Cubana (BMC) en Trinidad y Tobago a la vanguardia en
la prevención contra el CoronaVirus
Trinidad y Tobago: quehacer de la brigada médica cubana
Other media may be available in the repository