While other projects supported by WDF aim to lay a foundation for national diabetes programs, Cuba already has one. In the Cuban case the government has been unable to complete the program because of a lack of material resources.
The goal defined by the Ministry of Health in Cuba is a complete network of units known as CEAD, Educational and medical Care Centres for Diabetics, in each province capital in Cuba. At the time of application 3 centres had been established without foreign help, but 9 provinces still needed a diabetes care unit. If the project succeeds these 9 units will be established in the period from 2003 until July 2006.
Cuban, German and Spanish partners involved
The project is mainly a partnership between The Cuban Ministry of Health and the German based “Humanitäre Cuba Hilfe”, an organisation which has collected new and used hospital equipment and shipped it to the remodelled sites for the new diabetes units, and is in charge of the monitoring on site.
The role of the World Diabetes Foundation and the Spanish “Fundacion para la Diabetes” has been to donate an equal amount of money to realise the project.
Cuban health service ahead in education
There is no need to support the training of the medical staff that will be working in the units; Cuba has a good reputation of educating high quality health care providers.
Rafael Arana, director of Fundacion para la Diabetes often answers the question from Spanish doctors, who wonder how to help people with diabetes in Cuba, if they should go to Cuba and help out. “It is more likely that Cuban doctors can help us in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, being as qualified as they are in Cuba. We can help Cuba with equipment and buildings, but the level of health education is of top quality.”
Despite delays WDF hopes the clinics a finished in 2006
However delays have cast a shadow over the project. Finishing of phase one, refurbishing the first four clinics, was delayed nine months due to local problems with the enterprises dedicated to rebuild one of the four sites. This created some difficulties as the donated equipment from Germany arrived at sites not ready to use.
In June 2005 the project is still delayed but the goals are within reach, and both WDF and Fundacion para la Diabetes are happy about the achievements in Cuba. When the last diabetes unit is inaugurated - hopefully this will still happen in 2006 - the diabetes population of 300,000 all over Cuba will benefit.
The Spanish helping Cuba
The Cuban project is till date the only project in a developing country the Spanish based “Fundacion para La Diabetes” is involved in. “Fundacion para La Diabetes” was established in 1998 by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and has a majority of board members from the company.
Fundacion supports projects that aim to better the conditions for people with diabetes in Spain, and arranges a variety of activities to educate the society in general about diabetes.
Cuban hospitals have also been subject to a fundraising activity
Medical equipment and office tools not longer useful to the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk office in Gentofte, Denmark, were collected by volunteers in December 2004 and are in June on the way to Cuba. The employees cooperated with the Danish organisation “FocusCubano” whose members in some way or another have personal connections with Cuba.
The people from FocusCubano have seen the needs in the Cuban hospitals with their own eyes; hospitals in lack of basic material like mattresses and wheel chairs. At the same time they have seen that the prior donations have been used effectively and are sure the next batch will be equally appreciated.
This batch contains, besides the collected medical material also donations in form of computers and a heart scanner. The container transportation is often the largest expense, luckily this was also donated. |
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