The Cuban Brigade

The “Henry Reeve” Cuban Brigade is a group of doctors, nurses and epidemiologists who have treated patients hospitalized for Covid at the OGR in Turin since April. The OGRs are a former industrial complex usually dedicated to culture, it has become a temporary hospital, in the midst of the Covid emergency. Thanks to the intense work of the Cuban Brigade, in the first wave of Covid hundreds of patients were released and the local hospitals have resumed a more normal rhythm. Overall, 38 Cuban health workers (20 doctors, 16 paramedics, 2 administrators) were involved. In the first month and a half the workload was enormous, the Brigade worked tirelessly in the crowded temporary hospital. Subjected to grueling shifts, in full lock-down, the doctors and nurses of the "Henry Reeve" were divided between the red and yellow areas of the OGR and the nearby accommodation. At the end of the mission, in July, the manager in charge of the Brigade, Dr. Julio Guerra Izquierdo, was appointed honorary citizen by the mayor of Turin, Chiara Appendino. The humanitarian intervention was not limited to Italy: with the outbreak of the epidemic at the beginning of 2020, Cuba involved 4000 doctors intervening in 22 countries, without any distinction. The purpose of these medical brigades is purely humanitarian and continuous over the years: the average salary of a Cuban doctor fluctuates between 150 and 170 euros a month. At the end of September the Henry Reeve Brigade was appointed to the Nobel Peace Prize. The Cuban medical experience gives an example of solidarty and of a holistic and highly humanizing approach.