The former has access to foreign currency with a real value. The later can hope to maybe get an exit visa (the government will loan it's "doctors" to foreign regimes in exchange for real currencies).
It was always my understanding that while Cuba lacks a lot of things that many other countries take for granted, that the quality of its doctors was outstanding. I even remember seeing this mentioned in the newspaper at the beginning of the pandemic.
Is this not true, or no longer true? Have I been under a false impression for all this time?
Annecdotal evidence, but an acquintance of mine (who is an MD) encountered Cuban "doctors" in South America and wasn't impressed at all.
> I even remember seeing this mentioned in the newspaper at the beginning of the pandemic.
The thing is that Cuba made a lot of claims about their handling of the pandemic, but as with every communist country out there it's hard to really know what's really going on.
Also, assuming we have perfect faith in Chinese government statistics and Cuban government statistics...
Nevertheless, the wild variations in Covid experiences between countries and controversy over why it happened, make me think it is a useless yardstick.
I think nothing. Cuban is an authoritarian government that uses it's healthcare for propaganda. It has all the incentives to lie and AFAIK none of these claims are verified by independent parties parties. Regardless of political system it's a poor embargoed island and it's easier to believe that they are gaming the metrics than really providing better health outcomes.