THE 2020 FESTIVAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
DIGITAL-FIRST EVENT 7-15 NOV 2020
DIGITAL-FIRST EVENT 7-15 NOV 2020
11th November 2020 18:00-20:00
Panel debate, Exhibition/demonstration, Performance
We will produce and show a 25 to 30-minute documentary exploring and disseminating information about Cuba’s outstanding domestic and international response to the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. The key elements of this contribution are: 1) the public healthcare system which seeks prevention over cure, with a network of family doctors responsible for community health; 2) Cuba’s biopharma industry, driven by public health needs and producing nearly 70% of domestically consumed medicines. 3) expertise in civil defence and disaster risk reduction, facilitated by community mobilisation. 4) experience with infectious disease (border) controls. 5) Cuban medical internationalism (400,000 Cuban medics have served in 164 countries) culminating in 4,000 Cuban epidemiological specialists going to 27 countries to treat patients with COVID-19. The purpose is to draw out lessons of global relevance from Cuba’s response in terms of the importance of state capacity to mobilise resources, public communication and community participation, public health infrastructure, the approach to ‘pursuing’ the virus, consistent with the focus on prevention, domestic capacity for drug production and an international response which underscores collaboration and solidarity, not competition for scarce resources. We will draw attention to innovative Cuban biotech drugs which are demonstrating particular efficacy with Covid-19 patients.
This website is an archived version of the 2020 festival, visit the main website for this years events
