The Cuban government has again provided Ghana with 193 specialist doctors to supplement government’s efforts in providing quality health care services to Ghanaians.

This is an increase of 138 in 2000 from an initial figure of 17 in 1982 when the Cuban government agreed to assist Ghana to improve health care delivery at the time of a serious exodus of doctors.

Dr Gladys Ashitey, Deputy Minister of Health, who said this at the opening of the eighth National Scientific Workshop of the Cuban Medical Brigade for the Friendship of Cuba and Ghana, said Ghana had requested additional 100 doctors to augment the current staff strength.

The workshop will give the Cuban doctors, who are spread throughout the country and are working in the hard to reach communities, the opportunity to share with their colleagues and other stakeholders their research findings in 2006 with respect to various diseases that afflict people in the communities they work in.

Dr Ashitey noted with regret that where Ghanaian doctors refused to go and work, “Cuban doctors have come to the country and are working tirelessly to save lives and also undertake outreach programmes and provide in-door services in remote areas”.

She commended them for their tireless efforts in assisting Ghana to provide quality health care.

“We also appreciate the Cuban government for the continuous expenditure of 60,000 dollars spent annually to train one Cuban doctor to supplement what Ghana is doing”.

Dr. Lamech Abora Addo, a Cuban-trained Ghanaian doctor giving the results for the year 2006, said various diseases such as malaria, typhoid, malnutrition, anaemia, diarrhoea, non-communicable diseases, paediatric, surgery and obstetric and gynaecological cases were seen in all their various hospitals.

He said it was sad that some Ghanaian doctors did not regard the good efforts put in by the Cuban doctors and urged all to assist the Cuban doctors discharge their duties as required of them.

Source: GNA