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from the positive-effects-of-the-blockade dept.
The Center for American Progress reports
During the 55-year, United States-led trade embargo, the Cuban government used what little resources it had to spur innovation in preventative medicine. Now, with the newly normalized relationship between the U.S. and the small Caribbean nation, American researchers want to seize an opportunity to expand access to Cuba's medical investments.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) recently visited Havana to broker a deal between between cancer researchers in his state and Cuban officials, who have created a potentially promising therapeutic vaccine against lung cancer that is headed to the United States for clinical trials.
The Cuban Ministry of Health made the vaccine, named CimaVax, available to the public in 2011 after researchers at Cuba's Center for Molecular Immunology tweaked the formula for 25 years. At a dollar per shot, the government has been able to protect Cubans against what has become the fourth-leading cause of death in the country by attacking proteins that cause cancerous tumors to grow.
CimaVax slows the growth of cancerous cells by stimulating the body's immune response and spurring the creation of antibodies that stunt the development of tumors. While the vaccine doesn't totally cure the lung cancer, it extends life expectancy by four to six months and reduces symptoms like coughing and breathlessness, as seen in clinical trials conducted in 2008.
[...]Japan and some European countries have launched trial studies of their own to explore Cimavax's potential.
[...]Since the launch of Rural Medical Service in the 1960s and the subsequent revitalization of health care networks for poor Cubans, the focus on prevention, rather than treatment, has helped the island nation keep its health care costs in check. Annual health care costs average about $300 per person--more than 20 times less than that of American patients.
TechDirt notes
Cuban scientists have come up with their own vaccines for meningitis B and hepatitis B, and monoclonal antibodies for kidney transplants. That suggests the success of the "do more with less" approach isn't just a one-off, but can be applied consistently to deliver results.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by CortoMaltese on Wednesday May 20 2015, @11:10PM
A lot of doubt has been cast on Che's doctor title, he did study medicine but he seemed to have abandoned somewhere in the middle. And even if he was indeed a doctor he never practiced, In Cuba he held posts as the National Bank director and Minister of Industries (which he didn't hold long). One would image that Cuba's emphasis on medicine has to do with the real simple reasoning that preventing is cheaper than treating.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 21 2015, @01:20AM
I heard an interview with the station manager of a radio station in Berkeley, who as a young man, sneaked into Cuba to report on the revolution, and ended up joining the revolution fighting at Fidel Castro's side.
If they captured government soldiers, Fidel Castro would have his men give the injured prisoners the cots, and his own men would sleep on the ground. The prisoners would get the best and largest portions of food, the best medical care they could provide, etc.. The right-wing Cuban government was spreading propaganda about the murderers in the hills, so the prisoners were at first terrified of Fidel and his men. But, word spread by the freed prisoners of their good treatment. When Fidel marched on Havana, the government troops just stood to the sides of the road and saluted. It seems that caring for all their brothers was part of the Cuban revolution's founding ideology.
I'm not saying post-revolution Cuba was utopia, but sending medical missions around the world, educating doctors for free around the world (including all expense paid scholarships to poor students from the US on the sole condition that they return to the poor communities where they grew up, and provide medical services), is all consistent with the founding principles of the Cuban revolution. Not to mention, in the 80s, sending the entire Cuban military over to Africa to fight against the US / Israeli supported apartheid regime leaving Cuba open to attack from a very aggressive US, on the gamble that Ronald Reagan was too busy with the criminal investigations of his illegal arms trading with Iran to support his illegal wars and death squads in Central America (Iran Contra). Nelson Mandala’s first act upon being freed was to thank Fidel Castro and Cuba.
(Score: 1) by CortoMaltese on Thursday May 21 2015, @03:44AM
I also heard that they shot prisoners who weren't involved with the Batista regime, I'm not saying that cuban preventive medicine is not one of the best, but el regimen has been very far away from being nice, jailing opponents/youth/writers/homosexuals/etc, no matter how romantic it may seem at a distance a dictatorship is still a dictatorship.
On the topic of Iran-Contra, you might find that in the end it didn't matter, people like Oliver North walk freely,everyone who was indicted was pardoned by George H. W. Bush, Gary Webb had his reputation destroyed and committed suicide (or was killed depending on who you ask) and the assets that the CIA used are deeply entrenched in central american drug dealing, also CIA agents might have even been involved in the killing of DEA agent Enrique Camarena