Govt shelves plan to bring in Cuban doctors

By REBECCA KUKU
THE Government has shelved a plan to bring Cuban doctors to serve in the country because of opposition to their overseas missions here and overseas, says Health and HIV-AIDS Minister Elias Kapavore.
He told The National that the opposition from the National Doctors Association was also considered.
Former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill during a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro in November 2016 agreed to hire Cuban doctors to serve in the rural parts of the country.
He reaffirmed the commitment early this year, saying they would arrive here as soon as they were cleared by the PNG medical board.
United States officials had warned nations to stop using Cuba’s medical missions because it was “a form of human trafficking”. The Cuban government strongly denied that it was violating human rights by exploiting medical professionals it sends abroad.
Kapavore said the James Marape-led Government was shelving the plan.