The European Parliament's Group of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba thanked on Friday the decision of the Cuban government to send medical brigades to countries of the so-called old continent affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
We deeply appreciate the help in containing the pandemic outbreak, a gesture of solidarity that shows the altruistic spirit of a people that does not give its surplus, but shares what it has, said the group formed on 19 February for the 9th Parliamentary term.
 
MEPs highlighted the presence of 50 Cuban health professionals in the battered Italian region of Lombardy and around 40 in the principality of Andorra.
 
They also pointed out that this cooperation in times of the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is part of the characteristic generosity of Cuba, despite the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States, which has been in place for six decades.
 
'Since 1963, Cuba has sent more than 400,000 health professionals to 164 countries and has been present in the most serious health crises. Proof of this was the medical assistance it provided after the devastating earthquakes in Pakistan (2005) and Haiti (2010), as well as during the Ebola crisis in West Africa in 2014,' they said.
 
The Friendship and Solidarity Group of the European Parliament also recognized the support of Cuban doctors to several Latin American and Caribbean nations.