http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2009/octubre/lun26/margaret-chan-healthcare.html
Havana. October 26, 2009
Margaret Chan in Cuba
You have done a tremendous job
in the healthcare field
José A. de la Osa
TOUCHING down in Cuba for the very first time, Margaret Chan - director
general of the World Health Organization - said that it was a great pleasure
for her to visit this country, small but of tremendous significance for the
WHO, "so that we may observe and learn about the excellent efforts underway in
the Cuban healthcare system."
"I want to see the work being carried out with respect to primary care
and the communities, equality and universal access to medical care which are
issues of great interest for our organization," she added, noting that she was
hoping to have "great experiences" during her visits to medical care and
research centers.
Her presence here is also a great pleasure for us, stated Minister José
Ramón Balaguer during the reception, adding that "we admire and respect her
work and the ideas she has about worldwide public health."
During a recent speech in Denmark, Dr. Chan - a graduate in Medicine from
the University of Western Ontario (Canada) - highlighted, as Cuba has also been
able to demonstrate, that market forces alone will not be able to resolve
social problems. A value system is fundamental for the world to continue. On
the contrary, a situation that is already in danger in terms of vast
unbalances, in terms of income, opportunities and health, can only get worse.
Referring to the "busy working agenda" prepared for her visit, she
cheerfully commented that "I would be unsatisfied if they had not prepared such
an intense agenda, because I know that Cuba has done a tremendous job in the
field of healthcare."
Asked by Granma about the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, she said that it is
the first virus of this kind to affect us this century because the most recent
outbreak prior to this occurred some four decades ago. She stated that at the
current time, 195 countries have reported cases to the WHO and that it is a
"virus of extremes" because, on the one hand, there are mild cases developing
which do not require medicines to be prescribed, and another small percentage
of cases where patients rapidly develop severe symptoms.
According to international experience, she mentioned that among those who
may suffer more serious complications (pneumonia, for example) are pregnant
women, children under two years of age, and those that suffer from chronic
heart problems or asthma.
In the face of this pandemic, we cannot ignore or brush aside the danger
to individuals. The A (H1N1) virus can kill.
The WHO is asking governments to create "a package of measures" in order
to confront this pandemic, with an emphasis on prevention, attention, medicines
and vaccination. "I believe that the Cuban government is carrying out positive
work and for that, I am very grateful," she concluded.
Dr. Chan - who was appointed director general of the WHO in November 2006
- was accompanied on her trip this weekend by Dr. Mirta Roses, director of the
Pan-American Health Organization, and the two women will remain in Cuba until
Wednesday.
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