The Bay Area Medical Project successfully challenged the U.S. blockade of Cuba on June 1-8 and brought nearly one ton of medical equipment and supplies to three Cuban hospitals.

On June 1, 1999, the group of Bay Area activists crossed the border with numerous Pentium computers for the Frank Pais Hospital in Havana. The hospital needs 24 computers and 8 printers for the nursing stations at the orthopedic hospital.

The blockade has prevented the hospital from obtaining the needed medical equipment. Replacement parts were also brought for six anesthesia machines and a microscope. In addition quantities of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory and pain medicines were brought to the hospital.

Dr. Champras, the director of Frank Pais and a world-renowned orthopedic surgeon, and numerous members o the staff met with the delegation and thanked the group for its donation. He said the action manifests true solidarity between the people of the United States and Cuba.

The group next met with the director of the Oncology Institute, Dr. Cespedes. The hospital is the largest hospital for treatment of cancer in Cuba. Supplies were delivered to the engineering department for pumps for x-ray machines that had been worn. Dr. Cespedes spoke of the medical system of Cuba that uses extensive education programs to alert the population to risks of cancer, including using newspapers of the trade unions to educate workers.

On June 3, 1999, members of the group met with Dr. Juan Ramos Caballos of the Miguel Enrique Hospital in Luyano, a district of Havana. The delegation delivered medicines, a scope of cancer detection, an x-ray developer, and IV pumps, in a big show of solidarity. Dr. Caballos told the group that the hospital was in serious need of an all-purpose ultrasound machine. The previous equipment had broken down and the hospital was without an ultrasound machine. Miguel Enrique Hospital serves 500,000 residents of a working class district in the southern part of Havana. Recently, a 71-year old patient visited the director. She needed a diagnosis of a circulatory leg problem and asked the director why the diagnosis could not be done. Dr. Caballos stated that the blockade was causing severe shortages of medical equipment.

Chris Walter, a nurse and member of the delegation, reported, "This U.S. embargo of Cuba is illegal and immoral and is causing severe shortages of medical equipment, replacement parts and medicines. The citizens of the U.S. must do all they can to end this blockade."

The recent statistics have shown that in spite of the embargo, Cuban doctors are still advancing the Cuban health care system. Infant mortality in Cuba dropped below 6.0 in one thousand live births. A Cuban's life expectancy is 73 for men and 78.1 for women, compared to the U.S. which is 73 and 80, respectively. The U.S. has one doctor for every 365 persons, while Cuba has one doctor for every 231 persons.

Recently, Vice President Al Gore was quoted in a Canadian newspaper as saying,< "It is disgraceful that a little country like Cuba has a better health care system than the United States." The reason is because in Cuba, all health care is free. In the U.S., it is a paid system and over 50 million people are without health care.

The Bay Area Medical Project is planning a second trip to Havana in late 1999 or early 2000.

If you have medicines (antibiotics) or medical machinery (ultrasound, gastroscopes, duodenum scopes, x-rays) or Pentium computers and/or printers, or if you have questions about this group, please call us at