Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.- Cuban Vice President Roberto Morales Ojeda and State Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Equatorial Guinea, Salomon Nguema, agreed on Thursday on the importance of strengthening cooperation between both countries, which began more than four decades ago.

Nguema received Morales, who is on a four-day visit to Malabo. Morales was invited to attend the festivities for the 50th anniversary of the independence of the African nation, and thanked him for the work the Cuban doctors are carrying out in this country.

At the same time, Morales was informed of the country’s health situation and his government’s contribution to guarantee free treatment for people suffering from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

He stressed that Equatorial Guinea is making enormous efforts to face these diseases and complained that some neighboring countries do not want to work together, which he considered the only way to keep them controlled.

Morales assured Nguema that he can count on Cuban personnel and reminded him that his country is willing to collaborate with the specialists the government of Equatorial Guinea needs.

I also reiterate my thanks to Malabo’s position at Cuba’s side in different international forums, especially in the fight against the blockade imposed by the United States on the Caribbean island for almost six decades.

According to Nguema, Guinea has about 500 doctors and 1,000 nurses, to serve a population exceeding 1,225,000 people, according to the census carried out in 2014.

These figures are far from the two doctors the country had the day of independence, on October 12, 1968.