US Scientists Request End of Blockade against Cuba

CUBA, April 29, 2010. The US “Science” magazine published an article in which it requests the elimination of restrictions on medical products maintained by Washington against Cuba for almost 50 years now, by way of an economic, financial and commercial blockade.

Paul Drain and Michele Barry, professors with the Medical School of Stanford University, wrote an article in which they demand a better policy towards Cuba and the total elimination of the arbitrary measure, the Prensa Latina news agency reports.

The university professors expressed that they were quite certain that the end of the illegal blockade will make it possible for the United States to take advantage of and learn from the very successful Cuban universal system of medical attention.

The blockade and the implementation of extraterritorial laws, like the Helms-Burton (1996), are measures that are contrary to International Law and cause substantial damage to the Cuban people.

In spite of this, wrote Drain and Barry, Cuba has better results in public health than most Latin American nations, and its achievements are comparable to those of the most developed countries.

The island, point out the experts, shows, as compared to Latin America and the Caribbean, the highest life expectancy (78.6 years), and the largest amount of doctors per inhabitant (59 physicians per every 10,000 people).

Likewise, they commented that Cuba has the lowest infant mortality rate (5.0 per every 1,000 live births) and also among children (7.0 per every 1,000 infants).

These achievements, considered the US professors, are mainly due to the emphasis Cuba makes on the promotion of popular education about the prevention of diseases, an action that has allowed the island to reduce its dependence on medical resources to maintain a healthy population. (Cubaminrex- ACN)