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Cuba, Fidel and Gambian College of Medicine and Related Sciences – Rebellion

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Once again taking advantage of this thought, he came up with the idea of ​​establishing the College of Medicine and Allied Sciences in West Africa, in the Republic of the Gambia. An idea that would apply the traditional model of medical-scientific studies in Cuba, which was realized on October 1, 1999 and is currently governed by West African Standards, an educational organization of great international reputation, which knew the high scientific level of Cuban culture to acknowledge. teachers who collaborated with teachers from Nigeria. Gambia, Senegal and others.

The history of education in Gambia has shaped the future of healthcare in this sister country both before and after. Among the first professors and specialists to arrive in this friendly country were: Dr. Arturo Menendez, who served as direct advisor and methodologist to the dean, and who, along with Dr. Etim M. Sision, then dean of the university, gave him the honorable mission to begin training future health professionals.

Since then, more than 500 physicians and other healthcare professionals have graduated, and enrollment has grown so much since 2015 that it now exceeds 60 students and is expected to continue to rise. Currently, the total number of medical students in this year 2024 is 377 and 53 dental students. The current class of 22 has 65 students, of whom 50 are studying Medicine and 15 are studying Dentistry. In addition to the students of these courses, we also have students from physiotherapy and nursing, who are integrated at the end of the second semester and to whom our Cuban teachers teach basic science subjects.

The aim of teaching in The Gambia is to prepare health professionals from a holistic perspective so that they can fulfill the social responsibility of improving the epidemiological situation of the country and demonstrate the humanism and altruism that characterizes them in their care.

On October 1, 2024, we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Medical College in this region, so we will honor our historical leader with many curricular and extracurricular activities, which will highlight the importance of this wonderful idea that means and is also a great gesture of humanity and solidarity.

United with the Gambian people, our motto is to continue the wonderful mission of training future generations of professionals, which we wanted to conclude with a few words from Fidel on one of the anti-imperialist stages, recalling the work that is done by Cuban collaborators in this brotherly country:

Fidel’s words:

“A few days ago I met seventy health workers who, after a short leave, returned to Gambia to resume their noble and dedicated work in that West African country. When they mentioned, with expressions of affection and advance congratulations, that my birthday would be in a few days, I replied: Today is my birthday, after this meeting with you.

I really felt deep emotions that day after the three-hour conversation with these citizens. They were highly qualified university professionals, some very young, some older, from the eastern, central and western provinces, almost all general practitioners and other specialties, although there were also dentists and nurses; They were men and women of humble origins, of all races and mixed races, just like us. One thing especially stood out: legitimate pride, optimism, personal courage, self-confidence, creative spirit, quick wit, cheerful voice and gestures, which characterize Cuban internationalists in an unmistakable and incomparable way.

Anxious, they returned to the dozens of populated points they served, on both banks of a wide river that stretched for hundreds of miles, in a small, rectangular country where they provided the most humane of all services: the relief of pain, the preservation or restoration of enormous wealth. Good health and, above all, saving lives.

This completely different world is now as much yours as Cuba itself. How his love for humanity and country grows! How great and heroic can a person be! To what amazing heights their minds and hearts can soar!

This is how our leader saw us, and we will never abandon him, this is how we see Gambia as a homeland, just like ours!

This article is published by Rebelión with permission from the authors via a Creative Commons license, respecting your freedom to publish it in other sources.

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