Global Campaign to Award Cuban Health Care Workers 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
The contributions of Cuba's health care
workers at home and abroad are one of the
outstanding achievements of the Cuban
Revolution, and a testament to the leadership
and ongoing legacy of Fidel Castro. At the time
when the COVID-19 pandemic has struck peoples
and countries worldwide, Cuba and its health
care workers have risen to the occasion. As of
mid-November this year, Cuba has sent 53 health
teams to 39 countries on four continents,
despite the difficulties it faces keeping the
pandemic in check at home, while the U.S.
tightens its criminal sanctions aimed at
overthrowing the Revolution.
In recognition of the heroism and selflessness
of Cuba and its health care workers, a campaign
is underway to award Cuba's Henry Reeve
International Cuban Medical Brigade the 2021
Nobel Peace Prize. The petition to award the
Brigade the Nobel Peace Prize explains that it
is named after Henry Reeve, a 19-year-old U.S.
youth "who left his home in Brooklyn, New York
to join the Cuban struggle for liberation
against the Spanish in the late 1800s. The
Brigade named after him was formed by the late
Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 2005 after the U.S.
rejected an offer to send 1,500 Cuban doctors to
provide assistance in the wake of Hurricane
Katrina."
March 22, 2020. Cuban doctors prepare to leave
for Italy to help in treating COVID-19.
The petition also notes, "Since its formation,
the medical personnel of the Brigade, now
composed of 7,400 voluntary healthcare workers,
have been on the front lines providing disaster
relief. Before COVID-19, it had treated more
than 3.5 million people in 21 countries ravaged
by the world's worst natural disasters and
epidemics. An estimated 80,000 lives have been
saved as a direct result of the Brigade's
front-line emergency medical treatments."
Dr. John Kirk, an expert on Cuba's humanitarian
efforts and its medical internationalism and a
professor at Dalhousie University's Department
of Spanish and Latin American Studies, was among
those who officially nominated the Henry Reeve
Brigade for the Nobel Peace Prize. "For decades
Cuba has provided medical cooperation to scores
of countries -- and the support of some 4,000
medics working in 39 countries in the fight
against COVID-19 is just the latest example. The
nomination for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize --
which the Henry Reeve Brigade thoroughly
deserves -- means that this is no longer one of
the world's best-kept secrets," said Dr. Kirk.
June 27, 2020. Minrex map of locations of
Cuban medical brigades. (Click to enlarge)
The campaign has been taken up with great gusto
around the world by notable political and
cultural personalities, artists, intellectuals,
unions, religious organizations, organizations
involved in international solidarity work and
those that fight for the right to health care,
among many others.
 As specified in
the will of Alfred Nobel, the Peace Prize is to
be awarded to the person or organization that in
the prior year has "done the most or best to
advance fellowship among nations, the abolition
or reduction of standing armies, and the
establishment and promotion of peace congresses"
as determined by a committee of five people
selected by the Norwegian Parliament. The 2020
Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United
Nations' World Food Program on October 9 (for
which nominations closed at the beginning of
February).
The campaign for the Henry Reeve Brigade to
receive next year's Nobel Peace Prize has been
underway since June 16. The petition has
received 36,194 signatures from people
worldwide, with a goal of reaching 40,000. It
can be signed on the website www.cubanobel.org,
which also has extensive information about the
work of the Henry Reeve Brigade.
TML Daily is also publishing a document
here from the Cuban
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recounting the work
of the brigade over the past 15 years.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 10 - November 25, 2020
Volume [volume] Number [issue] - [date]
Article Link:
Global Campaign to Award Cuban Health Care Workers 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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