By Bill Holm
A primary mission of First-Hand Aid is to deliver help to Cuban hospitals—by hand. With the blessing of the U.S. and Cuban governments, we carry badly needed medicine and medical supplies in duffel bags right through the front door of a hospital and bring it to the doctors who use it.
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We also bring donated toys, pencils and pens, crayons, books, hygiene supplies, and other items for pediatric patients. We meet with doctors, learn about the Cuban medical system, and usually deliver the toys and such to the kids in their hospital beds.
First-Hand Aid always welcomes donations of goods to deliver to Cuban people. To find out how, email contact@firsthandaid.org.
On this trip, we visited the Institute of Oncology and Radiology in Havana, a hospital that serves the entire country with a range of specialties, and is a leader in biotechnology.
Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to visit the children. It’s always a highlight for travelers with First-Hand Aid to bring a bit of joy to families in tough situations. But the most important thing is that the items we brought made it where they need to be. And that’s what First-Hand Aid is all about.
We also delivered supplies to the hospital in Guines, a poor town about 30 miles south of Havana, with a population of about 67,000. The doctors in Havana told us that the hospital has recently expanded its service area from the township to provincial level and is in the process of renovation. While the hospital has deteriorated since pre-revolutionary times and doesn’t yet have advanced services, needs are met by working with other hospitals in Cuba.
In Cuban hospitals, care is free. At the oncology hospital in Havana, parents from outlying provinces often stay in the hospital with their child.
Students from all over Latin America who can’t afford med school in their own countries come to this hospital and others in Cuba for training. In turn, Cuban doctors often go to countries all over the world to help.
The doctors told us that breast and lung cancers are increasing in Cuba, especially among women, which is coinciding with an increase in smoking. The Cuban government is now working to educate people about the dangers of smoking—in a country renowned for its cigars. Pollution controls on all the old diesel-converted U.S. classic cars chugging through streets would help, too, I’m sure.
Despite challenging conditions, the doctors are proud of the infant mortality rate in Cuba: 4.9 deaths per 1000 live births a year, according to the CIA World Factbook. The Factbook says the U.S. rate is 6.3. Life expectancy in Cuba is 77.7 years; in the U.S., it’s 78.3.
