Vincentians continue to benefit from the Miracle Mission Programme, a fruitful partnership between St, Vincent and the Grenadines and Venezuela, which is focused on reducing the burden of eye-related health complaints.
Presently, numerous persons from across the island are benefitting from surgical interventions at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital aimed at the removal of cataracts and pterygiums (fleshy growths) from their eyes, says Neeka Anderson-Isaacs, communications officer in the Ministry of Health.
These surgeries are scheduled to continue every day at the hospital for the rest of July. This is necessary to meet the needs of those persons who were identified earlier this year by the Miracle Mission team as requiring corrective eye surgeries, Anderson-Isaacs said.
Additionally, the first batch of 14 persons recently travelled to Venezuela for two weeks for surgical interventions on their eyes.
Nurse Arianna Taylor Israel, a health care professional from the Ministry of Health, accompanied the group that went to Venezuela. Minister of Health, Clayton Burgin, Charge d’affaires of the Venezuelan Embassy, Dallianna Guanipa, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Luis de Shong and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Simone Keizer-Beache are all pleased with the progress being made here at home and abroad, Anderson-Isaacs said.
They are particularly appreciative of this partnership with Venezuela that is helping to improve and restore the vision of these Vincentians and thus improve their quality of life.
“The MOHWE is also cognisant of the fact that this partnership has facilitated the reduction of the long waiting lists for these surgeries and allows for more that 250 Vincentians to receive this care at no direct cost to them,” she said.
What I find difficult to understand is that in Venezuela these eye surgeries are carried out by Cubans.
Venezuela sends Cuba about 90,000 barrels of oil per day, in exchange for the services of about 30,000 doctors.
Some of the Marxist regimes harshest critics agree that Cuban medical missions have been key to the regimes consistent electoral success. Perhaps that is why Gonsalves wants the Venezuelans doing what the Americans do for free.
The Americans on request bring in a hospital ship and do free operations right there in your own country. But that does not suit Gonsalves solidarity policy with the ALBA members, he is looking to give the Venezuelans and Cubans credibility, perhaps in doing so we will forget the $300,000 dollars that we are paying the Cubans every month, an amount which we were told was being paid for by Venezuela, that tail turned out to be a fictitious fairy story.
What an amazing thing solidarity is, its the answer to everything.