The Hermanos Ameijeiras Clinical Surgical Hospital received a donation of more than seven tons of medicines sent by the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) of Brazil.
The donation is part of the “Aid to Cuba” solidarity campaign launched by the Brazilian organization in 2025 to raise funds to send medicines to the island in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP).
Representing Brazil at the delivery were Gene Santos, national director of the movement; Marcelo Durao, MST representative in Cuba since 2018; and other members of the permanent brigade.
On the Cuban side were Dr. Fernando Trujillo, from the National Directorate of Hospitals of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), Dr. Reynaldo Denis de Armas, deputy director of the hospital, and other officials from the institution.
The donation, consisting of first-line antibiotics such as azithromycin, as well as omeprazole and other medications, will be distributed to various institutions within the Cuban healthcare system.
The MST initiative mobilized donors from all regions of Brazil: rural and urban workers, students, teachers, healthcare professionals, activists, and ordinary citizens.
Marcelo Durao expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and stated that “Brazil has more to thank Cuba for than anything else,” while denouncing the genocidal nature of the United States’ economic blockade, which causes, among other consequences, delays in surgeries due to lack of energy and medicines.
“We are in this together,” affirmed the activist, who has eight years of uninterrupted work on the island. He highlighted the knowledge he acquired in Cuba about agroecology and educational programs, emphasizing that the MST is not alone: “Many organizations support the MST, and many people stand with Cuba.”
Gene Santos, national director of the MST, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to the Cuban people and their revolutionary process. “It is an honor and a joy for us to be in Cuba; for us, it is a point of reference for the whole world,” he said, stressing that defending the revolutionary process must be a task for all activists.
The deputy director of the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital noted that the center is experiencing supply problems due to the tightening of the blockade.
De Armas also conveyed a message from José Angel Portal Miranda, Minister of Public Health, in which he thanked them for the donation and acknowledged the impact the MST has had in Cuba.
Following the impact of Hurricane Melissa in 2025, the MST delivered more than four tons of aid, consisting of medicines for health institutions in the eastern part of the country.
IMAGE CREDIT: Rodney Rafael Jimenez Muñoz | Photos: Luis Jiménez Echeverría
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
