The evolution of Cuban medical diplomacy

Abstract

The author examines the evolution of Cuban medical diplomacy under the governments of Raul Castro and Miguel Diaz-Canel. The author shows that the essence of the Cuban national health system, which developed after the 1959 Revolution, is its accessibility. At the time of collapse of the socialist bloc, the Cuban government managed to maintain and surpass the achieved level of development of medicine. The presence of a large number of medical specialists allows the socialist government of Cuba to organize cooperation with dozens of states around the world. Under the leadership of Castro, the export of medical goods and services has become the main source of foreign exchange earnings and a driver of economic growth, and medical diplomacy has become an important tool of soft power, which is used to form an attractive image of the state among the world community. In doing so, the government combines pragmatism, increasing the cost-effectiveness of the programs, and altruism, providing gratuitous aid to the countries most in need. The main difficulty in developing this direction in Cuba’s foreign policy is associated with the North American embargo. In 2018, the US government launched a large-scale campaign to discredit Cuban medical internationalism. This policy aims to further restrict already limited access to essential resources. The country was also negatively affected by the ‘right turn’ in the region: the neoliberal governments of several countries refused to continue medical cooperation with Cuba. At the same time, the trends of recent years indicate an imminent repetition of the shift to the left, which in the future can significantly strengthen the Cuban positions in the region. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic showed that the world community needs a rapid medical response force with Cuban missions serving as a basis thereof.