US To Deepen Dialogue with Jamaica on Cuban Medical Programme

  • United States (US) Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has pledged to participate in further discussions with the Jamaican Government to better understand its engagement of doctors under the Cuban Medical Cooperation Programme. Mr. Rubio has also acknowledged that Jamaica may not be among the nations deemed to be exploiting Cuban labour.
  • Responding to questions regarding the Programme, which Jamaica has heavily relied on for more than five decades, Secretary Rubio sought to clarify that the US does not have an issue with the Cuban medical programme, but rather with forced labour.
  • While specifying that he was not speaking about how Jamaica’s programme operates, the Secretary of State indicated that in other parts of the world, Cuban doctors are reportedly not paid directly, but have their compensation sent to the Cuban Government, which then decides how much they will receive.
  • He alleged that in some cases, the passports of professionals are taken and they are coerced into participating in forced labour.
  • “There are places that have better labour standards [and] perhaps Jamaica is one of those, and that’s fine. Every country operates their programme differently and, obviously, because of our relationship with Jamaica, we’re going to engage with them on that and talk about it further and have a better understanding. Perhaps none of this applies in the way it’s handled here,” Secretary Rubio stated.
  • He maintained, however, that the US Government cannot be supportive of trafficking and forced labour.
  • Meanwhile, Prime Minister Holness, in responding to questions regarding the Programme, emphasised that the Cuban doctors in Jamaica have been incredibly helpful in assisting to fill deficits created by local health personnel exiting the system, noting that many have migrated to other countries.
  • Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. Tufton, advised that the Government is currently renegotiating the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) governing the Programme. He added that the contracts of several Cuban healthcare professionals now on the island ended recently, so they will be heading home. However, Dr. Tufton said a new batch of medical professionals will be heading to Jamaica to replace the outgoing personnel.

(Source: JIS)