What kind of healthcare system is #Cuba& #39;s? Is it really all milk and honey as claimed by Havana? How competent are Cuban doctors? What& #39;s the story of Cuban doctors who defected from the medical brigades and sought refuge?

Let& #39;s have a short look at it in this thread. #COVID19
They tell us Cuban doctors are way more professional than those elsewhere, even in free countries.

No doubt, Cuban doctors do a very good job with whatever they have in hand. They& #39;re not really bad when it comes to working with medical equipment not available back home in Cuba.
Which in itself is to their credit.

But here& #39;s the catch: Cuba& #39;s healthcare system has a three-tier system.
Tier 1 is for the ruling Communist elite.
Tier 2 is for wealthy tourists who can pay hard cash.
Tier 3 is for Cuban citizens.

Tier 1 and 2 are more or less the same.
What about Tier 3? To put it briefly, it& #39;s a nightmare.

Don& #39;t believe me? Read this article by @belenmarty.
https://panampost.com/belen-marty/2015/10/06/inside-the-cuban-hospitals-that-castro-doesnt-want-tourists-to-see/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=3c7f43edcb420d7691b30ae3a63acd61f3bdd7cb-1587013372-0-AV_J302qjjKo6WMqe9KRLzm2oEYL3iVGVHxDYxVcI5_305g-_84QtDvuFmaY8Q2xJ9ZcGIn5Io9IIkH8ZX2rFQoCds4ve0YyZ8Kzt2R7oGCQT0zLK0ddB_Jntre5l4VbY987zUPjxg8MtVj5pHiG6kCi4N4eqM87pK5M_76jplFKihuEoaiB3O5gwlo0eIFuYyF4RdRr-xTixkqgewbMYbYgJ4O0kG4G1iOfKY9Hnxhaf6a2wHHvpBA5vDhVhVUp1WGPgf1TnpwPdyZlKKoEjMg8Pk4wGEzTQshY62ufx2hnvGZBSByeBzTeITGJAe4ycNFDuWO-PTTz92qrvHTLfS0rfXYVgcu6l2R4ELsO1Wogk6HBeAwABolMALO2pyHCGFVYqG5CPpmJpCr_P9BMhtOSUF8qUWPe5hMdILNYRX7g7aiP_pgFXQj4nsJtjPkLBbK7sKh3UZDz3RZBFAHokWY&cn-reloaded=1

Also">https://panampost.com/belen-mar... read this article (in Spanish).
https://www.radiotelevisionmarti.com/a/el-horror-de-parir-en-la-habana/34214.html

A">https://www.radiotelevisionmarti.com/a/el-horr... bigger nightmare can& #39;t be seen elsewhere. Cuban citizens get this "healthcare".
They aren& #39;t allowed anywhere near hospitals that serve the ruling Communist elite or wealthy foreign tourists.

Also, Cuba& #39;s education is outdated.
https://therealcuba.com/?page_id=62 

Is">https://therealcuba.com/... it any surprise that driving cabs fetches more cash than being a doctor in Cuba? https://www.vox.com/2015/10/26/9593658/cuban-castro-taxi-driver-doctor-economy">https://www.vox.com/2015/10/2...
Cuba& #39;s regime successfully covered up the extent of the Zika outbreak in 2017.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2190001-exclusive-cuba-failed-to-report-thousands-of-zika-virus-cases-in-2017/

Only">https://www.newscientist.com/article/2... for it to blow up in their faces in 2019.
https://www.zikanews.com/zika-risk-bahamas-cuba-and-puerto-rico-2019

When">https://www.zikanews.com/zika-risk... this is the case with a virus that broke out in 2017, can we trust anything coming out of Havana?
Whatever happened to Cuba& #39;s world-class healthcare? How come HIV and dengue exploded? At this point of time, unless an independent audit is conducted on the COVID-19 situation in Cuba, any and all claims by Havana are suspect. Cuba isn& #39;t exactly known for transparency.
Now let& #39;s move on to Cuba& #39;s international medical brigades.

Starting with the WHO and its Pan American wing PAHO, Cuba has been profusely praised for battling COVID-19. But as we saw above, Cuba didn& #39;t eliminate Zika even in 2019. How can we trust the Cuban regime on COVID-19?
Cuba& #39;s medical brigades operate more like human trafficking/prostitution rackets.

Doctors work overseas and earn hard currency, most of which is taken by the Cuban regime whilst a pittance is thrown to the doctors who slogged all the way in far away countries to earn that money.
Read the accounts of Cuban doctors who defected from Cuba& #39;s overseas missions.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48214513

The">https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-4... consequences of defection are very dire. Defecting doctors can& #39;t return to Cuba without authorities harassing, imprisoning and possibly killing them and/or their families.
Cuban doctors who can& #39;t find patients overseas are asked to requisition medicines/pharmaceuticals for non-existent patients. Cuba& #39;s state-owned Farmacuba buys medicines from India, China and Russia and sells them at a higher cost in the host countries. https://www.wsj.com/articles/audit-the-whos-pan-american-arm-11586717189">https://www.wsj.com/articles/...
This is done in order to build artificial statistics (using invented names) and show that Cuban healthcare is working.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article235690237.html

Once">https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nati... again:
1. Cuban doctors make do with the minimum they have. They aren& #39;t bad that way.
2. You earn more driving taxis in Cuba.
Before the fall of the USSR, doctors were used by the Cuban regime to strengthen Cuba& #39;s geopolitical outreach overseas. Starting in the 1980s, they became more commercial than ideological.

Why is that again? Cuba was subsidized heavily by the USSR till the latter& #39;s collapse.
Even as Cuba& #39;s medical brigades are commercial ventures that help to keep the regime in Havana afloat, they& #39;re often accompanied by Cuba& #39;s military and intelligence personnel who closely monitor their every move.

In case any doctor steps out of line, the intelligence officials/
keep a tab on it and impose penalties ranging from warnings and confiscation of a percentage of the already paltry salary Cuban doctors receive to expulsion from the mission and an immediate return to the island.

Doesn& #39;t this remind you of human trafficking/prostitution rackets?
Because that& #39;s how it looks to me. A huge organized racket wherein the trafficked victims (in Cuba& #39;s case, doctors) earn a pittance of what the owner/trafficker (the Cuban regime) gets.

So tell me again, how do we trust anything coming out of the regime& #39;s megaphones at Havana?
This is the end of my thread on #Cuba and its healthcare system.

Thank you all for reading.

Good morning. Have a nice day.
You can follow @HardFastAndFree.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: