Nice to wake up to a warm message from Mexico.
My dear friend and colleague, Dra. Estela had written:Mil felicidades, que te sigas iluminando con tu gran inteligencia, te admiro, te mando gran abrazo apretado y mil bendiciones.
Cuba
In Cuba, National Doctors' Day is celebrated as a holiday on December 3 to commemorate the birthday of Carlos Juan Finlay. Carlos J. Finlay (December 3, 1833 – August 6, 1915) was a Cuban physician and scientist recognized as a pioneer in yellow fever research. He was the first to theorize, in 1881, that a mosquito was a carrier, now known as a disease vector, of the organism causing yellow fever: a mosquito that bites a victim of the disease could subsequently bite and thereby infect a healthy person. A year later Finlay identified a mosquito of the genus Aedes as the organism transmitting yellow fever. His theory was followed by the recommendation to control the mosquito population as a way to control the spread of the sickness.
In Cuba, this celebration takes a serious note as doctors are held in high esteem in that country. Also Cuba helps poorer countries with Medical help more than any other country in the world . Around 30 000 cuban doctors work in 67 developing countries (during Covid also in Europe) giving a helping hand. I have met the doctors in remote parts of the world, including Pemba, Border of Venezuela/Brasil/Guyana and know of their work in Micronesia (Tarawa) and almost every country in Latin America and Africa. To be an Internacionalista is a like badge of honour in Cuba.
Having worked in many developing countries, to be a voluntary/humanitarian doctor in those countries is very difficult albeit extremely satisfying.
It was interesting to see where the Best Doctors in the world are, I know for sure they are not in the USA or most countries in Latin America. Here is a list of the top 50.
The metholodological line employed by the Lancet , included 37 indicators
The human development index
the number of health professionals per 100 000 population
Quality of Health Services
Main causes of death
Most common risk facors among the population
Also the compliance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Objectives projected for the year 2030
Only Costa Rica, Uruguay, Panama, Cuba and Mexico are in the top 50 from this hemisphere.
In defense of the USA I will say that the best doctors in the world are in the USA so are the worst.
I will be looking forward to December 3 to celebrate the Doctors Day in Cuba, preferably in person with my colleagues.
Gracias, Dra. Estela
https://medicoanthropologist.blogspot.com/2014/08/dra-estela-rosales-garza-incredible.html
