Tonga to learn healthcare from Cuba [1]
Sunday, December 13, 2009 - 10:10. Updated on Sunday, May 25, 2014 - 15:29.
Editor
I am pleased and encouraged to see our government talking to the Cubans about health. There's a lot that Cuba can teach the world about providing healthcare for its citizens and in particular the ascendency of health education, health promotion and healthy lifestyles over the pre-occupation with hi-tech treatment which currently plagues the developed economies of the west. Cuba's health services are by no means perfect but it's a living example of what some health professionals would like to see happen in their own countries if only they were able to have a greater say in health policies.
There's no doubt that Cuba's health priorities were partly brought about by their economic circumstances but it was also borne out of far-sighted policies on public welfare and their health services and the health of its population were the beneficiaries.
The indications from your reports are that our Prime Minister is keen that we benefit from Cuba's doctors and medical officers who are able to fill in the shortage of doctors in many countries all over the world. This will no doubt be good for us. But I'm also hoping that through their presence, we may be encouraged to learn how a financially strapped country with limited resources is able to sustain a more healthier population than some of the wealthiest nations on earth.
Tonga is capable of being a more healthier nation than Cuba if our policies and strategies on health were long-term, realistic, rational and aligned more to prevention rather than paying lip-service to it.
Sefita Hao'uli