The U.S. Will Collaborate With Cuba … on Ebola
After wrestling for
days with the diplomatically awkward reality that Cuba could turn out to
be America’s best ally on the effort to stem the Ebola epidemic, the
Obama Administration has belatedly come around to a sensible conclusion:
It’s willing to coordinate with the Cuban medics dispatched to treat
patients in West Africa.
In a remarkably
conciliatory statement, the State Department said on Tuesday night that
it “welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with Cuba,” which has
pledged to send hundreds of doctors and nurses to treat patients in the
three countries where the virus is spreading fastest.
“Cuba is making significant contributions by sending hundreds of health workers to Africa,” the State Department said.
The Ebola outbreak has presented the two nations with a rare opportunity to work collaboratively on a high profile global issue at a time when there is growing interest on the part of both governments for a rapprochement.
“Cuba is making significant contributions by sending hundreds of health workers to Africa,” the State Department said.
The Ebola outbreak has presented the two nations with a rare opportunity to work collaboratively on a high profile global issue at a time when there is growing interest on the part of both governments for a rapprochement.
Former Cuban President
Fidel Castro called on the United States this weekend to set aside its
long term differences with Havana in order to make headway on the fight
against Ebola. Cuba recently dispatched 165 doctors and nurses to Sierra
Leone and a new group of 91 was set to travel to the region on Tuesday.
The government has trained more than 400 health care workers on the
precautions that must be taken to treat patients with Ebola.
The United States and
the European Union have pledged to spend hundreds of millions of dollars
to build up the beleaguered health care infrastructure of Sierra Leone,
Liberia and Guinea. But the international community has struggled to
put together a medical corps willing to treat patients with the highly
contagious virus.
The Times editorial
board on Monday called on the United States to coordinate with Cuban
medics and to offer them assistance in the event any contract the virus.
The State Department statement did not address whether American
personnel would be willing to treat or evacuate Cuban health workers.
American officials say they are still sorting out the broader issue of
how medical evacuations of all foreign health care workers will be
handled.
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