“We have decided to honor them with this plaque, to express our most sincere gratitude for what they have done, what they do and what they will do, not only for our country, but for humanity,” said ANAIC President Marco Papacci, when presenting the plaque to Dr. Luis Enrique Pérez, head of this group of Cuban physicians.
The event, held at noon on Monday at the premises of Terrazzo Pellegrini, in the Calabrian city of Cosenza, was chaired by Cuban Ambassador to Italy Mirta Granda, who expressed gratitude for the noble gesture of the association to honor the work of the Cuban medical experts.
“With this beautiful plaque from the ANAIC, not only the medical brigade is acknowledged, but also the Cuban people,” the diplomat pointed out.
Granda added that during her visits to Calabria, she always receives positive opinions from the population about the service provided by the Cuban doctors, who are “our best ambassadors, from the heart and from humanism.”
The work of the Cuban specialists, many of whom were present at the event, “contributes to improving health indicators significantly, for the benefit of the Italian people,” the ambassador stressed.
At the event, coordinated by Pino Scarpelli, member of the ANAIC National Secretariat, Lorenzo Caputi, director of International Relations at the University of Calabria, also took the floor to highlight the valuable contribution that comes from the supportive people of Cuba to improve health care in that region.
In statements to Prensa Latina, Dr. Luis Enrique Pérez said that the plaque awarded by the ANAIC is an incentive to the work of all 333 members of the Cuban Medical Brigade, based in 27 hospitals in five Calabrian provinces, who provide services in 23 specialties, mainly in the most necessary places.
In his speech, the ANAIC president recalled that the collaboration agreement between the Cuban Health Ministry and the Calabrian Government was signed in August 2022, and the first 51 doctors arrived in December of that year, while the second group arrived in August 2023, and the third one came ti Italy in January 2024.
A little over two months ago, in September, 66 doctors arrived in Calabria, completing the group of 333 Cuban doctors who provide assistance in five provinces of Calabria, 117 of them in Cosenza, 55 in Catanzaro, 41 in Crotone, 77 in Reggio Calabria and 43 in Vivo Valentia, he noted.
When presenting the plaque, Papacci highlighted the “talent, dedication and sensitivity” of the members of the Cuban medical Brigade that provides its solidarity aid in Calabria and whose foundation its work on the principles of the Cuban Revolution, by demonstrating “its commitment to the defense of life.”
jg/ro/ort
