Operation Milagro establishes its first base outside of Cuba

LA PAZ (PL).—The Cuban solidarity Operation Milagro established its first base outside of Cuba this Wednesday in the Bolivian Ophthalmologic Institute, now equipped with Cuban specialists and technology, in order to operate on poor patients.

The Cuban solidarity initiative was praised by Fanny Arguedas, wife of President Eduardo Rodríguez; Alvaro Muñoz, minister of health; and Juan del Granado, the mayor of La Paz, in a ceremony at the institute.

Luis Felipe Vázquez, the Cuban ambassador, emphasized that the center has the conditions to operate on poor patients from all over Bolivia who are suffering from blindness as a result of cataracts or other disorders, without them needing to travel to Cuba.

He noted that the initiated program is within the framework of Operation Milagro, in virtue of which some 1,000 Bolivians have received operations for their sight on the island.

Muñoz highlighted the quality of the technology transferred by Cuba, and that Bolivian colleagues are to be trained in its use by 10 of the island’s specialists, and affirmed that there is to be a valuable and solidarity exchange between the professionals of both countries.

Fanny Arguedas thanked the island for its aid so that healthcare in Bolivia can be a service accessible to all and not a privilege as is lamentably the case in the country.

Mayor Del Granado said: "Now we are installing Operation Milagro here," and added that this is not the first gesture of solidarity on Cuba’s part, for which he thanked the Cuban people and their president, Fidel Castro.

He recalled Cuban help in upgrading the technology in the intensive care room donated by Cuba 20 years ago to the La Paz Children’s Hospital, and Minister Muñoz announced that a similar contribution is to be made to the eastern city of Santa Cruz.

Ricardo Flores, director of the Ophthalmologic Institute, also expressed his recognition of the Cuban contribution, thanks to which the center now has the conditions to operate on patients with blindness due to cataracts free of charge.