We cannot remain indifferent to disturbances in Latin America and the Caribbean
Full text of remarks by Raul Castro Ruz, President of Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers, opening the 7th Association of Caribbean States Summit, June 4, 2016
Author: Raúl Castro Ruz | internet@granma.cu
june 4, 2016 14:06:35

Photo: Ismael Francisco
Distinguished Heads of State and/or Government,
Esteemed Ambassador Alfonso Munera Cavadia, Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States,
Distinguished delegates and guests,
For the seventh time, we are meeting as Heads of States and/or Government, alongside other high representatives of the States and territories of the Association of Caribbean States, ACS. On this occasion we have gathered for a deep exchange on the theme “Together to confront the challenges of sustainable development, climate change and peace in the Caribbean”.
Our deliberations will also be aimed at strengthening the organization on the basis of its foundational principles, as a mechanism of coordination, cooperation and concerted action.
We welcome the French Overseas Collectivity of Saint Martin, a new Associate Member, and salute the adherence as Observers of the Multinational State of Bolivia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Eastern Republic of Uruguay and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP), the same as the presence of representatives of nations and organizations as Observers.
We hope one day to be able to count with the adherence of all of the Caribbean territories, including the sister island of Puerto Rico, as an independent and sovereign nation.

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Cuba and Venezuela strengthen agreements on health and education

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro approved funding of over $1.4 billion dollars this Monday, April 4, to strengthen the 2016 Cooperation Plan signed with Cuba in health, education, culture and sports
Author: International news staff | informacion@granma.cu
april 5, 2016 09:04:18

Photo: www.avn.info.ve
CARACAS.—Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro approved funding of over $1.4 billion dollars this Monday, April 4, to strengthen the 2016 Cooperation Plan signed with Cuba in health, education, culture and sports.
The head of state signed the document during a meeting of the Cuba-Venezuela High Level Joint Commission, held at the Miraflores Palace, reported Prensa Latina.
Maduro highlighted the efforts made by his government to ensure a truly socialist healthcare system. “The right wing media devote themselves to silencing what is being done for the benefit of Venezuelans,” he stated.
The Venezuelan leader also approved the Cuba-Venezuela binational plan to strengthen the Misión Barrio Adentro (Inside the Neighborhood Mission) health care program.
He noted total investment of $1.428 billion dollars, as well as 6.954 billion bolivars in the case of health, which will be used to strengthen and expand the medical assistance provided through the Misión Barrio Adentro.
Barrio Adentro, which is central to the Venezuelan National Public Health System, consists of a network of more than 10,000 primary care modules distributed in urban neighborhoods, rural towns and villages across the country.

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CUBA IN AMAZONIA
An island in the river
A team of Cuban collaborators in health, education, and recreation offer their support to remote communities in Venezuela’s Amazonia
Author: Dilbert Reyes Rodríguez | | informacion@granma.cu
april 4, 2016 09:04:23

Pictured left to right are Reinaldo, Berenice, Arbelo, Yamerlis and Dixán – a little piece of Cuba on Mouse Island. Photo: Julio Manuel Pérez
The only road that leaves the city of Puerto Ayacucho, and heads south toward remote landscapes, has the same curves as the Orinoco River, which flows in the opposite direction, north.
The road is the central axis of the municipality of Autuna, and one must travel an hour before approaching its principal settlement, without actually reaching the town. The road ends at the river’s edge, where travelers to Isla Ratón must catch a boat – a bongo (a large motorized canoe) or voladora (a smaller, faster version) to reach, or leave, the town.
The municipal seat is a good sized island, in the very center of the river’s current, a long segment of which serves as the natural border between Venezuela and Co­lombia.
At this moment, three young Cubans are responsible for health care in the island town, working now with two Venezuelan community doctors who arrived just recently. The two young women and a male doctor have faced challenges of all sorts, making everyday another professional graduation.

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