Kwaku Agyeman-Manu (left) and H.E Pedro Luis Despaigne Gonalez
exchanging the contract
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has renewed its contract with the Cuban Medical Brigade for their services rendered in critical specialties in some major hospitals in Ghana.
Speaking at a brief ceremony for the signing of the contract, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, indicated that the contract renewal would regularise the stay of about 20 Cuban doctors in Ghana for the next two years.
He explained that even though there are a lot of medical doctors and specialists within the health system of the country, the practice of medicine is getting a bit more complex with specialisations and sub-specialties in the medical academia and doctors have to specialise in small niches of the profession.
“Apart from that we have a problem of not being very efficient in distributing our doctors equally across the entire country and some two cities in the country take more than about 60 per cent of the medical officers that we have and so when it comes to geographical distribution we still find ourselves wanting and, therefore, this engagement with the Cuban government is to support us with specialists so that we can see quality of care equitably distributed across the country,” Mr. Agyeman-Manu added.
Currently, there are 21 specialists in the areas of cardiology, intensive care, orthopaedic, as well as pathologists which are related to the Cuban Brigade working in Tamale Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast, Ridge, Bolgatanga and St. Joseph Hospital in Koforidua and Ho.
The Cuban Ambassador to Ghana, H.E Pedro Luis Despaigne Gonalez, said the Cuban government is not only offering Ghana Cuban doctors, but also opportunities to prepare its human resource.
He indicated that the renewal of the agreement is going to help increase the number of Cuban doctors in Ghana.
“All of the regions have been receiving Cuban doctors and now we have doctors in six out of ten regions of Ghana and we consider that this beautiful and vey comprehensive corporation is going to continue in the future,” he added.
Mr. Gonalez disclosed that since 1983, the health corporation has been a pillar between the two countries and that has seen over 2,000 Cuban doctors working in Ghana most, especially in the rural areas.
He assured the MoH of Cuban gvernment’s continuous support in the health sector of the country.
By Abigail Owiredu-BoatengP