HAVANA, (Reuters) – The world must confront Ebola in West Africa to prevent what could become one of the worst pandemics in human history, Cuban President Raul Castro told his closest allies yesterday.
“I am convinced that if this threat is not stopped in West Africa with an immediate international response … it could become one of the gravest pandemics in human history,” said Castro, who is sending 461 Cuban doctors and nurses to West Africa.
He spoke in an address to six presidents or prime ministers from the leftist ALBA bloc of Latin American and Caribbean meeting in Havana, where they pledged to join forces to prevent Ebola from spreading in the Americas and to find ways to aid West Africa.
The foreign leaders praised Cuba’s contribution to the fight against Ebola in West Africa. The communist-ruled island of 11 million people has committed the largest medical contingent yet of any single country to the front lines of the epidemic in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, where the hemorrhagic fever has killed more than 4,500 people since March in the worst outbreak on record.
No Ebola cases have yet been reported in Latin America or the Caribbean but the virus, which is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, has reached the United States and Spain.
The ALBA summit came together quickly after a Liberian man died from Ebola in Dallas on Oct. 8.
Castro reiterated Cuba’s willingness to set aside its 55 years of hostility with the United States, which is sending up to 4,000 military engineers, medical personnel and other troops to the region, to stand together in the anti-Ebola fight.
“Cuba is willing to work side-by-side with all countries, including the United States,” said Castro, who took over for his ailing older brother Fidel Castro in 2008.
The United States has welcomed Cuba’s aid, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry highlighting the contribution of Cuban medical professionals.
The summit brought together the presidents of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Haiti, the latter a specially invited guest.
