Nehawu: Attacks on Cuban doctors are unwarranted

The National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) has come to the defence of the Cuban doctors deployed to the country to help fight COVID-19, in the wake of backlash over the controversial decision.

“Nehawu condemns the barrage of unwarranted attacks on the Cuban doctors deployed to South Africa to help with providing clinical care during the fight against COVID-19”, the union said.

South Africa should work with Cubans

Nehawu further reiterated its call for the country to work with Cuba and share experiences and expertise during the doctors’ stay. The union also called for the Mandela-Casto initiative to be defended.

Another group of Cuban doctors recently returned home from Italy, where they had also lent a helping hand to the country, which at some point, was the epicenter of the respiratory disease.

“South Africa has over 200 Cuban health professionals already stationed here. They have embraced the humane task of saving the lives of our people with humility, diligence, solidarity characteristic of the Cuban people and often working in the harshest of all conditions”, the union also said.

“The global response to the coronavirus pandemic underlines the importance of solidarity, international cooperation, the need for the abolition of conflict, wars and aggression, without which the spread of the pandemic cannot be combatted”

SA doctors’ jobs not at stake

The deployment came with a reported R430 million price tag and has sparked outrage amongst South Africans who have accused government of overlooking a number of local and newly-qualified doctors who are still sitting at home.

Health Minister Health Mkhize has however assured the country that the doctors’ presence is in no way a substitute for local health professionals and that they will be co-operating with their South African counterparts.

“We welcome them and we want to assure everyone that they will not take anyone’s posts and they will be working alongside South Africans. There should not be anyone that feels that they are a threat to [local employment],” Mkhize had said.

“It’s important to say that the Cuban doctors are coming at our request to reinforce, particularly because they’ve got particular strength in the case of community medicine,” he said. The Cuban Embassy said the health professionals will carry out their duties and help the country grapple with the pandemic, which has left the global economy on its knees.