06 September 2016 — Philippine Health Secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial led an official DOH delegation to Havana on a study tour to learn about the Cuban health care system. The delegation, which included Assistant Secretary Enrique Tayag and other senior DOH officials, also saw the participation of health officials from local government units and the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) country office in the Philippines, Dr. Gundo Weiler.

During the visit, Secretary Ubial met with her Cuban counterpart, Minister for Public Health Roberto Morales Ojeda, who provided the delegation with an outline of his country’s health care system. Minister Morales said that he was open to any opportunities for cooperating with the Philippines in the health sector, and mentioned that Cuba is currently hosting five Filipino scholars studying medicine. In reply, Secretary Ubial thanked Minister Morales for hosting the Filipino scholars and stated that she too looks forward to collaborating with Cuba in terms of health care.

The Philippine delegation then visited several health care facilities at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. These included a visit to a local polyclinic, Cuba’s national heart center, a premier tertiary level facility, the Hospital “Hermanos Ameijeiras,” a maternity home, a home for the aged, and a mental health care facility.

The delegation also visited Cuba’s Central Unit of Medical Cooperation, which trains and coordinates Cuba’s emergency medical missions for international humanitarian crises, as well as the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples, a social organization founded in 1960 for the purpose of promoting the relations of solidarity.

Lastly, Secretary Ubial and the delegation met with a three of the five Filipino students currently enrolled at the state-run Latin-American School for Medicine (ELAM), the most prestigious medical university in Cuba. The students – Ms. Mila Polinar, Ms. Claire Salering, and Ms. Flora Hagonia – spoke of their experiences as residents of Cuba and as trainees within the country’s health care system.

For the duration of the visit, the delegation was accompanied by Third Secretary Mikhal C. de Dios and Protocol Officer Ruben F. de Jesus of the Philippine Embassy in Mexico, who also provided consular services to the Filipino community in Havana. END