"Salud!" is Spanish for "health," as well as the title of the documentary that was screened in The Blackburn Center Monday.
The documentary's underlying theme was that primary health care is a human right for all people.
The Cuban health care system was explored and introduced with testimonials from a few of the 28,000 Cuban health professionals employed in more than 60 countries.
"Cuba is helping doctors who need to train doctors," said Mwiza Munthali, the Public Outreach Director of transAfrica forum.
According to www.transafricaforum.org, the association is "the oldest and largest African-American human rights and social justice advocacy organization promoting diversity and equity in the foreign policy arena and justice for the African World."
Mybe Cham Ph.D., the chair of the department of African Studies, said the film, "showed the kind of effort a small country like Cuba is making to take care of people's health."
Cham believes it was an ideal film for Howard's campus because, "one of Howard's values is service to leadership in the United States and the global community. Cuba is setting a good example for Howard students, especially those in the medical school. It shows what can be produced with limited resources."
The film also delved into the psyche of international medical students in Cuban which now totals 30,000, including nearly 100 from the United States.
In hi most recent documentary, ''Sicko," which looks at the American health care system, Michael Moore traveled to Cuba with Sept. 11 survivors to obtain medical treatment they either could not get or could not afford in the United States.
"There is one doctor to every 600 people and they are spread out all over the country," said Dr. Peter G. Bourne, "Salud!" executive director and chair of the Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC). "Citizens in the small rural communities have access to doctors as well as people in more developed places in Cuba."
