MEDIA STATEMENT

For Immediate Release

The Cuba Consortium Welcomes Historic U.S.-Cuba Health Sector Agreement

Washington, DC (June 14, 2016) – The Cuba Consortium applauds yesterday’s signing of a historic cooperative health agreement between the United States and Cuba.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell and Cuba’s Minister of Health, Dr. Roberto Morales Ojeda, “establishes coordination across a broad spectrum of public health issues, including global health security, communicable and non-communicable diseases, research and development, and information technology,” according to the HHS. It further notes that the agreement will facilitate collaboration to address some of the common health issues faced by both countries, such as aging populations, diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative conditions. Both are also susceptible to mosquito-borne infectious diseases such as Zika and dengue.

Senator Tom Daschle, the Cuba Consortium’s co-chair, commented: “Americans and Cubans alike will benefit from this umbrella accord.  The Cuba Consortium is convening biotech firms, academic institutions, research centers and non-profit organizations throughout the US that share this vision.  We are exploring the potential in working with  Cuban institutions to improve the health of all Americans and that of people across the globe.”

“This is a win-win that can lead to joint programs to ensure a healthier, safer future for both our people, earlier availability of vital medications and vaccines, and mutual learning to make health a priority in all policies,” noted Gail Reed, executive director of Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC), a California-based organization that has engaged with the U.S. and Cuban health communities for the last two decades. “We are optimistic and proud to work as members of The Cuba Consortium, to turn positive diplomacy into action for health.”

About The Cuba Consortium

The Cuba Consortium is an assembly of companies, non-profit organizations, investors, academics, and entrepreneurs organized to track and examine the normalization process in both the United States and Cuba and to inform and prepare its members for opportunities to engage Cuba. They are complemented by foreign policy, political, economic, international development, legal, and cultural experts who have specialized knowledge of the diplomacy, politics, and economics of the normalization process. The Cuba Consortium is organized by The Howard Baker Forum, a bipartisan convener of public policy conferences and roundtables founded by the late Senator Howard Baker and designed to advance sound foreign and domestic policies. See: http://thecubaconsortium.org/