Pakistan, Cuba to collaborate in higher education

[bemildred]

:popcorn:

ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (APP): Pakistan and Cuba plan to enhance links in higher education, particularly in the field of biotechnology.

This possibility was discussed by Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr. Atta-Ur-Rehman during his meeting with Gustavo Machin Gomez, Cuban Ambassador to Pakistan at the HEC Secretariat Thursday.

Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, appreciating the Cuban gesture of awarding Pakistan 1000 scholarships for studies in medicine, proposed a joint programme for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology in Pakistan, which would be set up by HEC with Cuban technical expertise.

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At present over 22,000 foreign students are studying in Cuba.

AP of Pakistan

[Mika]

1. More than 33 thousand doctors graduated in Cuba since 1959

More than 33 thousand doctors graduated in Cuba since 1959
http://www.tribuna.islagrande.cu/cientificas/texto/agosto%202006/formados30ing.htm

Havana, August 30. – More than 33 thousand Cuban and foreign doctors graduated at the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences of Havana (ISCMH) from 1959 to the date, according to the statistics of the institution divulged in this capital city.

The number represents almost half of this type of professionals existing in Cuba today, and only in the course 2005-2006, the number of graduates rose to 2004 from 26 countries, including students from the Latin American Medicine School (ELAM), from which 1500 students graduate each year.

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It expected that the number of graduates will be higher in the next years, which proves the will to fulfil the compromise with the Commander in Chief Fidel Castro to graduate 100 thousand doctors in ten years, remarked on this point Doctor Jorge Gonzalez Perez, vice- chancellor of the ISCMH.

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Cuba sent its first international medical brigade to Algeria in 1963, and from then to 2005, more than 100 thousand doctors and health workers worked in 97 countries, mainly in Africa and Latin America.

Currently, the Island counts on 71 specialists in medicine and gives assistance in 68 nations, while it received some 19 thousand patients coming from the three Soviet republics that were more affected by the accident in the Chernobyl electro-nuclear plant in 1986.

Together with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Cuba created the program of visual recovery named Operation Miracle for any Latin American or Caribbean person suffering from blindness or other sight problems, with the objective of operating one million patients annually.

[donsu]

2. and our students have to pay two fortunes just to go to college

nt

[Judi Lynn]

3. More students from the U.S., also included this year:

US Youth Begins Med School in Havana

Havana, Aug 29 (ACN) Joaquin Morante, a New Yorker who has come to study medicine in Cuba, noted that US city’s poor state of public health conditions and high costs of medical care.

Morante, a 28-year-old latino, is part of the sixth group of American youth that has come to take study medicine on the island -- free of charge. The program is organized by Cuba and the US Pastors for Peace group, associated with the Inter-religious Foundation of Community Organization.

In statements to ACN, Morante said that eight million people have next to no access to health care in New York, since they do not have medical insurance. He added “I am sure that Cuba will teach us how to improve the health situation in my city.” Morante said he will also take the opportunity to learn the humane values of the Cuban medical system and to exchange experiences with youth from other nations.

Morante will take his coursework at the Havana-based Latin American School of Medicine, which recently graduated 1,593 new doctors from 29 countries.

Currently 88 US youths from lower-income families are studying medicine at the Havana school, whose registration has increased to more than 10,000 students from 100 ethnic groups of 27 nations.
(snip/)

http://www.ain.cubaweb.cu/idioma/ingles/2006/ago29denuncian-sanidad.htm

[eccles12]

4. Well you know Castro is after Pakistani nuke technology....

can't you just hear that talking point now?

[Judi Lynn]

5. Story on one new American medical student going to Cuba:Her dream leads he

Her dream leads her to Cuba
Program will help her earn medical degree — for free
By JOEL DRESANG
[e-mail]
Posted: Aug. 16, 2006

As the world scrutinizes the health of Fidel Castro and speculates on Cuba's future, Mosley packs her bags, preparing to return to Havana next month to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.
(snip)

Mosley plans to join about 95 U.S. citizens already studying at the Latin American School of Medical Sciences, which has been educating doctors from undeveloped countries and, more recently, from the United States. Tuition, housing, meals and books are free. Students have to be economically disadvantaged and committed to practicing medicine in underserved U.S. communities.

That commitment is part of the appeal to Mosley, who at 23 has a history of community service. She also welcomes being trained in Spanish. And then there's the price tag.

The average yearly cost of medical school in the U.S. ranges from more than $36,000 at state schools to about $52,000 for private schools, and the average graduate has debts exceeding $120,000, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
(snip)

"It's a fantastic goodwill mission in all directions, just for her to be able to share her experiences with other dedicated people from all over the world," said Heitzer, who's on the steering committee of the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba.

Detractors of Castro, who has ruled in Cuba since 1959, have characterized the free medical training for U.S. citizens as an attempt to embarrass the U.S. government.
(snip/...)

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=484803