SVG nominates Cuban medical group for Nobel Peace Prize

THE Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, a Cuban group of medical professionals has been nominated by the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.

Senator Keisal Peters, this country’s minister of state with responsibility for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, officially lodged the nomination with the committee on January 26.

Peters was making her maiden address in the House of Assembly during this week’s Budget debate when she acknowledged SVG’s long standing relationship with Cuba, which has proven beneficial particularly in areas of health and education.

The minister of state noted that SVG ordinarily has as many as 45 Cuban medical practitioners from Cuba assisting in the health sector.

And in recent times, SVG’s “big brother” sent an additional 16 medical professionals to assist in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is not lost on me that in 2020, the Trump administration issued a scathing report about the Cuban medical programme…where they were accused of condoning forced labour and human trafficking,” Peters said. “It is no secret that relations between Cuba and the United States is such that these sorts of reports will arise, but I am a firm believer that in matters of style, we shall swim with the

currents, but when it comes to principle, we must stand like a rock.”

The senator said it was for that reason that all members of Cabinet gave their approval and blessing for the Cuban medical brigade to be nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.

The Henry Reeve Medical Brigade was established in 2005 and is said to have a membership of over 7000 medical professionals. The team’s mission focuses on international medical solidarity and the medical professionals travel the world to aid with major health crises.

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Cuba sent more than 3700 health professionals to nearly 40 countries across five continents to assist with the fight against the virus.

The Cuban Medical Brigade has also been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize by South Africa, which welcomed 217 medical professionals in 2020 to help with their battle against Covid-19.

The nomination of the Cuban medical brigade has also been formally supported by 22 lawmakers and a dozen academics from the United Kingdom.

The rules of the Norwegian Nobel committee state that nominations can only be made by parliamentarians, academics, magistrates of international courts, previous recipients of the award, as well as active or retired members of the committee.

The deadline for nominations was January 31.

“…We wish the medical Cuban brigade all the best and we look forward to good news, come this October,” Peters said,

as she referred to when the winners of the Nobel Prizes are announced.

The minister of state also took the opportunity to congratulate the newly elected President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of the United States.

Peters said St Vincent and the Grenadines will continue to make all attempts to maintain its diplomatic relations with the US and she expressed hope that relations will improve significantly as it relates to Cuba and Venezuela, who are SVG’s very close allies.

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 was the World Food Programme (WFP) “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”.