Cuban Medical Internationalism: Central America, A Decade after Hurricane Mitch

Abstract

This article studies the significance of Cuba’s medical internationalism, one of the world’s best-kept secrets. In particular it examines the Cuban medical role in Guatemala and Honduras a decade after Hurricane Mitch dealt a devastating blow to Central America. It suggests that the Cuban role there represents a microcosm of the broader international role, where it has 40,000 medical staff working in 74 countries to look after 70 million patients.