Cuban doctors

Like many other socialist countries, Cuba has achieved impressive success in education, health care and sports. The heyday of Cuban healthcare occurred in the 60-80s, when world socialism was a powerful force and allowed Cuba to develop steadily despite opposition and sanctions from imperialist countries led by the United States.

After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986, Soviet doctors were faced with diseases caused by exposure to radiation. A particularly difficult situation arose with young children who fell into the affected area and those born to mothers affected by radiation. By 1990, the number of cases of cancer and blood diseases in children began to increase rapidly. The Soviet Union did not have the necessary technologies for treatment and rehabilitation, and the country entered a period of deep political and economic crisis. Cuba immediately responded to the call to the world community for help. A delegation headed by the chief oncologist of Cuba, Professor Marta Lonchong, went to Kyiv. On March 29, 1990, two planes with the first batch of sick children and their parents flew to Cuba. Fidel Castro personally met them at Havana airport. He announced that the Cuban government had approved the state program "Children of Chernobyl" for young residents of the affected republics of the USSR and opened funding. The pioneer camp named after José Martí in Tarara, one of the best in Cuba, was given over to the medical and health center.

While the Soviet Union still existed, the work was organized as follows: Cuban doctors selected children from the affected regions, the USSR Ministry of Civil Aviation provided a plane that took them to Havana. In Cuba, all concerns about children fell on the receiving party.

Cuban doctors have worked in many countries around the world.

From 1960 to 2000, 28,422 Cuban doctors worked in 37 countries in Latin America, 31,181 in 33 countries in Africa, and 7,986 in 24 countries in Asia. The UN estimated that in the fall of 2019, there were more than 30,000 Cuban doctors working in 67 countries around the world. From 1998 to 2007, a large group of Cuban doctors worked in Haiti, during which time health indicators in Haiti improved significantly, particularly infant and child mortality, maternal mortality fell by more than half, and life expectancy increased by 7 years.

In February 2026, the new government of Honduras that came to power announced the end of medical cooperation with Cuba; 128 Cuban doctors and medical workers worked in Honduras.