One of the world’s best-kept secrets is Cuba’s longstanding commitment to providing medical care to developing countries. At present over 50,000 medical personnel are working in 66 countries. This book examines the role of Cuban medical cooperation in poor and developing countries from 1960 (a response to an earthquake in Chile) to 2014 (sending 165 medical staff to fight Ebola in Sierra Leone). It shows that, despite being a small country (pop. 11.2 million), Cuba provides more medical aid to the developing world than all of the G-7 countries combined. The first half of the book examines Cuba ... More

One of the world’s best-kept secrets is Cuba’s longstanding commitment to providing medical care to developing countries. At present over 50,000 medical personnel are working in 66 countries. This book examines the role of Cuban medical cooperation in poor and developing countries from 1960 (a response to an earthquake in Chile) to 2014 (sending 165 medical staff to fight Ebola in Sierra Leone). It shows that, despite being a small country (pop. 11.2 million), Cuba provides more medical aid to the developing world than all of the G-7 countries combined. The first half of the book examines Cuban cooperation where the same programs are found in several countries (such as the response to natural disasters and Operation Miracle). The second half analyzes specific examples of medical internationalism—such as in Haiti, Venezuela, and the South Pacific. The end result is an all-encompassing portrayal of Cuba’s medical internationalism in scores of countries.