#EIU SHIFT EXCHANGE FREE#

There is a large gap between what host governments are charged and what Cuban healthcare workers earn, with the Cuban state keeping the lion's share of the difference, which represents an important source of foreign exchange for the government. Healthcare professionals are dispatched abroad on 'missions' lasting two to three years. However, contemporary Cuba also charges for medical services. Although Cuba does this partly to burnish its image abroad, the desire also comes from a genuine conviction on the part of the Cuban government that access to healthcare is a universal human right. Cuban doctors were present in Haiti after its devastating 2010 earthquake, and this September the government sent hundreds of doctors and nurses to Caribbean countries ravaged by Hurricane Irma. The Cuban state has been dispatching doctors, nurses and surgeons abroad since 1963, often to troubled areas of the world.

Besides the benefits created by universal access to domestic healthcare and the international goodwill generated by medical diplomacy, Cuba's medical industry is an important source of foreign exchange for the country, representing one of its major export sectors, with earnings even outstripping those from tourism.

#EIU SHIFT EXCHANGE FREE#

Cuba has one of the highest numbers of doctors per capita in the world and currently has 'medical brigades' operating in 62 countries-in 27 of these, medical services are free of charge. Cuban healthcare and medical diplomacy are world-renowned.

Eiu shift exchange