Cubans in Cuba



First medical institution in Cuba with international certification

Founded by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and inaugurated on November 15, 1999, the ELAM was awarded this distinction, valid for six years, for complying with rigorous quality parameters

Author:  | informacion@granma.cu

january 26, 2024 07:01:56

Photo: José Manuel Correa

Founded by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and inaugurated on November 15, 1999, the ELAM was awarded this distinction, valid for six years, for complying with rigorous quality parameters

Author: National Editor

The Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) became the first medical institution in Cuba to receive the Certification of the International Evaluation and Accreditation Council of the Union of Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Founded by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and inaugurated on November 15, 1999, the ELAM was awarded this distinction, valid for six years, for complying with rigorous quality parameters with impact on the dimensions of governance and university management and infrastructure, training, research, artistic creation and innovation, and linkage and internationalization, as explained by the Ministry of Public Health.

The rector of the institution, Dr. Yoandra Muro Valle, summarized the greatness of a work that already has 19 graduations and has reached more than 120 countries. Throughout its 25 years, the School has also been visited by 60 heads of state, 300 ministers of health, three Nobel Prize winners and more than 80,100 foreigners.

The Executive Director of the Council for International Evaluation and Accreditation of the Union of Latin American and Caribbean Universities, Dr. Orlando Gabriel Delgado Salley, highlighted the strengthening achieved in the improvement plans for the faculty, student participation in decision making, the updating of the bibliography in the subject programs, and the improvement of access to technological resources, as well as the contribution to universal health in different contexts.

Cuba's Minister of Public Health, José Angel Portal Miranda, thanked the rigorous process to which this center was subjected, and acknowledged the efforts of the teachers, students and administrative staff.

The international certification guarantees the quality of the education provided by this center, reduces possible mistrust and expands the opportunities for graduates of higher education institutions to enter the labor market.


---------------------------


Heroic people's strength for a new anniversary

More than 400 works of socioeconomic interest will be delivered to the infrastructure of the province of Santiago de Cuba, in salute to the 65th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution

Author:  | internet@granma.cu

December 11, 2023 12:12:00

Heroic people's strength for a new anniversary
Photo: Granma

More than 400 works of socioeconomic interest will be delivered to the infrastructure of the province of Santiago de Cuba, in salute to the 65th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution

"In a matter as decisive as food security and sovereignty, we are planting 65,000 hectares and 18 new areas of agricultural development, two per municipality, and carrying out a significant number of works, to reach the 65th anniversary of the Revolution with improvements in the quality and standard of living of the people of Santiago," said José Ramón Monteagudo Ruiz, first secretary of the Party in the province, when he called the people to days of decisive effort.

In the first semester of the year, the infrastructure of the territory was revitalized, as agreed for the 70th anniversary of the assault to the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks; and in the present stage, the completion of 1,355 houses and 479 basic housing cells is foreseen; to continue in the transformation of neighborhoods and communities, and in the application of asphalt on roads, highways and, especially, in the populous areas of Enramadas, Callejón del Carmen, La Alameda, Artes y Oficios, and 13 de Agosto.

Work was also carried out in the repair of the Dos Ríos power plant, in the planting and cultural attention to the sugar cane fields, in the image of the towns and cities - in the case of Palma Soriano important revival works are being carried out, given its relevance in the events that determined the revolutionary triumph -, and in the centers of commerce, gastronomy and services, as well as educational and health institutions. Likewise, in the 26th of July and First Front museums, and in the Céspedes Park, where, on January 1, 2024, the central act for the 65th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution will take place.





------------------------------------------

U$S 280.2 million could have benefitted Cuba...

But did not. Why? 

Because the Cuban banking and financial system continues to be a target of aggressive measures of the US Government reinforcing its Blockade against Cuba.











October 31st, 2023         Editorial | internet@granma.cu

 The Cuban banking and financial system continued to be one of the main targets of the aggressive measures of the US Government, aimed at reinforcing the economic, commercial and financial blockade against the Island.

 Between 2022 and 2023, the monetary-financial damages caused to the Cuban economy due to this cause exceeded 280.2 million dollars, which will be reported before the United Nations General Assembly on November 1st and 2nd.

 The most recent report from the Cuban Foreign Ministry on the impacts of the blockade indicates a significant increase in the refusal of foreign banking and financial institutions to carry out transactions with Cuban banks and companies.

 Closing of previously established accounts and contracts, the constant return of bank transactions and the cancellation of keys for the exchange of financial information through SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications), are among the recurring actions.

 Restrictions on the use of the US dollar in transactions abroad also persist, as well as the impossibility of using the US financial system in cases where a Cuban entity is the origin or destination of the transfers.

 As a result of the pressure, intimidation and dissuasion exerted by the US Government on international financial institutions, new obstacles have been implemented, such as the request for additional documents, which generates delays and limits the execution of payments.

 Some 130 foreign banks that refused to carry out operations with Cuban banks for various reasons (75 from Europe, 21 from America and 34 from the rest of the world), affected a total of 267 operations.

 There were also numerous reports of Cubans residing abroad who face the refusal of their banks to operate or make transfers related to the country, regardless of their location in the world.

 The validity of the sanctions against Fincimex, a Cuban non-banking financial institution, affects the volumes of remittances sent from the US through Western Union, after the closure of all the branches of Western Union in Cuba in November 2020.

 

 Food Industry: Cuba has more than 800 factories capable of producing a variety of safe quality products for internal consumption. 

Blocked access to raw materials is limiting Cuban productive capacity.

 







Editorial | internet@granma.cu

 October 30, 2023 18:10:31

 Cuban industry has capacity for receiving 1,500,000 liters of milk daily that can be processed, packaged and delivered to the population. Manuel Sobrino Martinez, head of the Food Industry Ministry stated, during a Round Table space that "Despite financial limitations, the Cuban Food Industry built by the Revolution today has sufficient capacity to significantly increase the supply of food for our people."

 Cuban more than 800 factories, dedicated to the transformation of raw materials, make it possible for varied, quality and safe products to reach the people. Sobrino Martinez pointed out several specific productive lines in which Cuba has particular strengths. Production of wheat flour, for example, is one of them. According to the Minister, Cuba has installed capacity today to process about 730,000 tons of wheat flour annually -a rate of 1,500 tons per day while the consumption rate is approximately of 700 tons per day.

 "However, the availability to produce different products the population need does not depend on productive capacity alone" he stated. He pointed out that current Cuban reality implies that a large part of these capacities are not being used, despite our food industry development plan designed to cover this industry until 2030. In the last three years, he explained, the decrease in production has been notable.

 Some of the factors mentioned have to do, logically, and in first place, with the economic blockade of the United States.  But there are additional factors including the impact of the pandemic on food prices and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict which, with impacted Europe and also reflected in the price of food. Specifically, in relation to the war conflict, he explained that a significant number of raw materials were received from that geographical area and the conflict has made everything more complex "price, availability and, above all, transportation."

 Another example within the food industry he addressed had to do with milk production, this industry has capacity to receive 1,500,000 liters of milk daily and can package and deliver to its market of about 500,000 people. Cuba can also produce 60,200 gallons of ice cream daily, a very limited food item in recent months, he clarified. And there is also industrial capacity for 100,000 liters of yogurt per day.

 He added that, thanks to the Soy Diversification and Extension Program, capacities were created for about 530,000 liters of soy milk per day, yogurt, and other products connected to it all of which are of high nutritional value and great acceptance by the people.

 In relation to the meat industry, he pointed out that 18,000 tons of live cattle and 16,000 ton of pork can be received per month. The meat industry has installed capacity, technology and personnel to produce approximately 170,000 tons of minced meat and sausages per year.

 "To have an idea, this capacity would imply being able to provide six times more than what we provide today as part of the regulated family basket and which we know does not meet the nutritional requirements of our people but that is what we can reach at this moment.”

Sobrino Martinez explained that these are not subjective plans, but rather figures that were reached in 2017, 2018 and part of 2019.  Relative to another product that is highly in demand and in deficit today, such as soft drinks, he assured that there is capacity for about 30 million cases per year. We always face particular challenges because our country does not have access to financing and has to pay almost everything in advance and, furthermore, when a contract is signed, and due to the limitations of the blockade, the money takes up to 60 days to become effective. In the supplier's banks, it is difficult to guarantee the logistics to produce food. And yet, Cuba will continue ensuring that our focus remains avoiding neoliberal measures that guarantee food supply to a tiny percentage of the population while leaving the rest completely unprotected. 


Cuba calls Anti-imperialist Solidarity Conference for Democracy and against Neoliberalism
Havana will again serve as a meeting place for those who defend peace, solidarity, and justice, November 1-3
september 26, 2019 10:09:21

Canvases for peace. Photo: www.vtv.gob.ve

To discuss the needed articulation of movements, organizations and groups focused on the struggle against imperialism, the Cuban Social Movement Coalition has called an Anti-imperialist Solidarity Conference for Democracy and against Neoliberalism, November 1-3, in Havana’s International Conference Center.
Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, member of the Communist Party of Cuba Political Bureau and secretary general of the Federation of Cuban workers, described the event as a broad, massive mobilization of the regional and world left to support our Revolution.
“Cuba is again a meeting place for those who defend peace, solidarity among peoples, justice, and democracy based on the true power of the progressive masses,” the Cuban leader stated, emphasizing that the event will propitiate debate and interaction around a program of concrete action to condemn the brutal economic, commercial, financial blockade imposed unilaterally by the U.S. government.
He said it will be an opportunity to build and reinforce unity among these forces, to continue the struggle for systematic change in the face of a capitalist offensive to impose neocolonialism, racism, and other forms of discrimination.
To be considered is the media war launched by imperialism, along with our own creative communicational strategies to provide accurate information.
Five work groups will meet during the event to gather opinions and initiatives to oppose belligerent U.S. foreign policies, that has led to armed conflicts is all parts of the planet. An open tribunal will be held in a Havana neighborhood, and one group will meet at the Latin American School of Medicine to learn about Cuba’s solidarity in the academic training of youth from around the world.
Some 1,000 delegates are expected, from all continents, along with representatives from the Cuban Social Movement Coalition, which includes the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, the Federation of Cuban Workers, the National Association of Small Farmers, the Federation of Cuban Women, the Cuban Peace Movement, and the Martin Luther King Center, among others.

 Cuban soils face degradation and 
await greater farmers' productivity



















Cuban soils face degradation and await greater farmers’ productivity
Ivet Gonzalez IPS

Few people know Carlos Manuel Borrero by name. Even in his own neighbourhood, at the San Miguel del Padron municipality, on the periphery of the Cuban capital, they call him the “Rubber Man” because his planting beds are made of old tires.

La Melisa, his farm, offers a challenging landscape with its almost two thousand vehicle tires that cover most of its 4.28 hectares located over a slope and stone and sand quarry that Borrero and his wife, Dunia Rivas, manage in keeping with a sustainable mode of agriculture that helps them improve the low productivity of their soil. Because of this and other problems the couple, established there for 17 years, started experimenting with recycling and alternative ecological techniques for the past 2 years. They managed to make their small production of fruits, vegetables and herbs profitable, and, as they argue, the innovations led to an increase of 70 % of their production.  “This is a highly degraded soil on top of a slope” Borrero explains discussing soil degradation as the main environmental challenge of the land he owns in San Miguel, one of 15 municipalities surrounding Havana.  It is also a challenge for all Cuba and its 11.2 million inhabitants as low productivity of foodstuff affects everybody; Cuban production covers less than 30 % of people’s total needs in this crucial area.

Borrero uses most of the tires to make high beds for planting --three tires on top of each other filled with soil where to grow cabbage and tarragon. Other tires are piled in an area were nothing is growing yet; they are being treated weekly to protect them from becoming contaminated while they await being re-used. Borrero and Diaz represent a small segment of Cuban farmers concerned with soil conservation and engaged in sustainable agriculture. Most farmers are still unaware of the importance and value of caring for the soil and favoring sustainable agricultural methods.

Living with soil degradation
Cuba, with a total surface of almost 110 000 square kilometers (or 10. 9 million hectares), has about 57% of the land (or 6.22 million hectares) dedicated to agriculture.  According to the Cuban Land Institute (IS, Instituto de Suelos) of total Cuban agricultural land almost 77% faces some challenge to productivity (erosion 43%, compactness 14%, lack of organic matter 70%, salinity 14%, low humidity retention 37%, low fertility 45%, stones 12% and inefficient drainage 40%).

In Cuba more than 30% of agricultural lands is in the hands of state businesses and farms; 45% is worked by agricultural coops and 24% belong to small farmers such as Borrero and Diaz here in La Melissa.  The National Program for the Improvement and Conservation of Soils (Ministry of Agriculture) has since 2001 improved, and continues to improve soils one way or another, but there is still much to do. In 2012, there were 737 000 hectares of agricultural surface registered and receiving some type of improvement, this number grew to 932 000 hectares in 2016 (as reported by the National Office of Statistics and Information) but such environmental advance represents benefits for 15% of the agricultural land and more than 22% of the cultivated land of the country, but much remains to be done.

Borrero explains that, In his intensive farm and within its beds “there is natural soil from this area which I constantly improve enriching it with organic matter from waste or leftovers from my own produce.”  Now the tires with crops cover about 0.7 hectares of his total farmland, but Borrero hopes to take more space with a peculiar design that will fill with soil only the top tire while long bands of rubber in the center serve to filter water and lead to improved use of this resource.

Women are also present
Using creative forms, the tires decorate the garden of a humble family where Rivas had the idea of using tires as flower pots to save water. Then Rivas asked Borrero for help making larger beds with tires for planting, substituting this way less durable barriers they used (such as plastic bottles) to make terraces and cultivate crops, the idea emerged.

“There were problems with water, we did not have good beds and we worked really hard but our work did not paid well…so I started to think” she remembered. They humanized their work too using higher beds so they did not have to bend so much when planting and caring for their crops.
The couple has not met other farmers recycling tires like they do but they know many farmers in their community work at improving their land asking specialists for proper evaluations so they also qualify for monies from state funding for the environmental work they do.

Supporting Farmers
In the urban surrounding areas of Havana, Egidio Paez, president of the NGO Cuban Association of Technicians in Agriculture and Forestry (ACTAF in Spanish) which brings together more than 2600 technicians, explained that more than 90% of producers are committed to some form of work to improve the soil.  ACTAF focus is on increasing knowledge favoring ecological agriculture. It has more than 25 000 members in Cuba.  According to Paez the first challenge in managing soil is lack of knowledge, which is followed by lack of interest so their work is increasing interest on ecological practices. ACTAF provides support to farmers responsible for producing 15 tons of vegetables from 35 000 hectares of land that surround Havana.

We need more time and we have to work harder to improve our soils, Paez argues, soil is the most valuable resource of any country according to UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Producers know how to improve soils…We have shortcomings and changes in our practices to make and we need to follow up with producers and there are also challenges connected to bad practices that are entrenched in conventional agriculture.  At the same time that we are teaching, however, we need to make drastic decisions ensuring state regulations are at the level of scientific advances and in keeping with decisions made to transform Cuban agriculture.

We have to nourish the soil with organic matter, as recommended by the Cuban Institute of Land, we can use leftovers from the crops, organic fertilizers, compost and worm humus; we have to reduce farming, make contention walls and live barriers (with plants), and we have to include areas of woods and forests, all these are among the best practices for healthy soils.  Since 2010, the Cuban Institute of Land, is installing demonstrating places to show in practice how to manage the soil, water and woods and forests in a variety of ecosystems in the Cuba. There were 34 such sites in 2016, including 845 farms, which benefited more than 12 thousand hectares of land.  For the first time in 2017 the Agency of the Environment in Cuba offered a prize and a certification of areas started in sustainable soil and land management, this is a good way to encourage farmers towards conservation.

(Translated from Spanish by Nora Fernandez)


No comments: