Interview with Fidel Castro Diaz Balart.
Dr. Fidel Castro Diaz Balart is one of Cuba's leading technocrats. He is adviser to several key Ministries connected with science and technology and has had a role in the strides made by the socialist country in S&T. Castro is a Ph.D in nuclear physics and has done advanced research in the field. He has been closely involved in Cuba's efforts to solve its energy problems and in its success in combating the U.S. sanctions and making his country virtually self-sufficient in energy. Dr. Castro is the son of the Cuban President, Fidel Castro.
Cuba's achievements in the field of biotechnology and medicine are well documented. The medical care an average Cuban gets is comparable to the best available in any developed country. Hundreds of Cuban doctors have been sent to less developed countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, at the request of the governments concerned (see `Cuban doctors to the rescue', Frontline, June 5, 1998). In the field of biotechnology, Cuba is a veritable superpower, ranking among the top six in the world.
Dr. Castro, who was in New Delhi in the last week of October, to attend an international conference, spoke to John Cherian. Excerpts from the interview.
What have been Cuba's notable advances in the field of medicine and science and technology?
In medicine, the biggest gain has been in medical care. In Cuba today, for every 167 people there is one medical doctor. The mortality rate is only 6.2 per cent. In all we have 64,000 medical doctors in Cuba today. The medical services are divided into three. The primary branch is devoted to the family. This is a pioneering experience under which all of the population is covered. This is the primary cell dealing with primary health care. It provides the foundation for the second level which comprises polyclinics and hospitals catering to the needs of the general public.
The third and highest level is that of specialist hospitals dealing with heart and renal conditions, cancer and other diseases. The main hospitals are in the capital, Havana. The population has access to basic medicines at the grassroots level; at the same time the more complicated cases can be attended to in hospitals in Havana. Seventy five per cent of the basic medicines are produced in Cuba.
Since 1986, we started producing biotechnological products. The aim was to produce interferon, which was useful to fight dengue. (Dengue mysteriously appeared for the first time on Cuban soil in the mid-1980s. The Cuban authorities have said that it was a result of clandestine biological warfare from across the Florida Straits.) Interferon helped stop the spread of dengue. After that we thought about using bio-engineering to help combat other diseases.
In 1987, we built the Centre for Genetical Engineering and Biotech Knowledge. Other research institutes also came up. Now there are more than 40 institutes devoted to research in biotechnology. We have produced a unique vaccine to cure meningitis. This is now marketed by Western multinationals in countries like Canada.
We have a joint venture in India to produce medicines to combat hepatitis-B. The factory is being completed in Chandigarh. We have transferred the technology to India. Cuba and India are also cooperating in the field of ''Biocam'', related to biotechnology. A factory is being set up in Bangalore. Cuba, Brazil and India are the most advanced in this field. The factory in Bangalore will be a high quality human resource centre. There is a good level of cooperation between the two countries.
What has been the impact of the four-decades-old American blockade?
The blockade has been very harmful for the health care system. We have problems acquiring essential medicines for diseases like cancer and juvenile diarrhoea. We lack high-tech diagnostic equipment because of the embargo. We find it difficult to obtain finance from international lending institutions because of the blockade. Also, we face problems in selling our medical and biotechnological products.
How has Cuba's energy sector been faring despite the fact that the Cienfuegos nuclear plant is still not operational?
The nuclear power plant could not be completed because of the Helms-Burton Act (passed by the U.S. Congress). Eighty per cent of the work on the plant has been completed. All the construction work is finished but we cannot find reliable partners to complete the job. Cuba lacks hydro-electric power and till the early 1990s had not discovered significant hydrocarbon deposits. But now Cuba has started pumping its own oil and gas from offshore wells. By 2003, we can say that 100 per cent of our electricity will be generated from oil and gas. We have modernised the electricity generating system. The frequent electricity blackouts that characterised city life in Havana are now a thing of the past. The production of nickel and cobalt has been stepped up, making Cuba the biggest producer in the world. Several Western companies are engaged in deep water prospecting for oil and gas off the coast of Cuba where there are known deposits.
The Left has been resurgent in Latin America in recent years.
Our President has stated many times that the human problems are still the same. The gap between the rich and the poor remains. There is lack of health care, education and access to knowledge. The water resources and ecosystems are neglected. Globalisation has raised more questions than answers, and Latin America is no different.
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