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by José de la Osa, Granma newspaper, page 8, March 30th 1999.

 After nine years of the starting of the Comprehensive Health Program for the care of children from Chernobyl – a Ukrainian city located 20 km from the nuclear energy plant in which one of the reactors was damaged- in our country, it came to my mind as a flash some moved words that Irina Ivasenko, the president of the Association of Children from Chernobyl, said to Fidel Castro: “Such a small country with such a great heart!”.

It was March 29th 1990 and the Head of the Revolution, stand up by the IL-62 airplane stairways, was welcoming at “José Martí” international airport the first 139 children from the neighbouring areas of the nuclear accident, and the willingness of the Cuban state to receive not less than 10 000 people to provide them with highly specialized care was announced.

“José Martí” pioneer´s city then became a giant sanatorium, supported by more than 15 high scientific level medical institutions, to care for the affected children from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

Dr Carlos Dotres, who was then the general director of Medical service at Tarará and is now the Ministry of Public Health, said yesterday to Gramma newspaper that during these years 15 354 children from Chernobyl and also 2 823 adults have been cared for, all of which shows that Cuba is the country that has rendered medical assistance to the highest number of persons coming from the areas affected by the accident.

Dotres pointed out that it is not possible to attribute all the health disorders found in children to the ionizing radiations because some other genetic, environmental and social factors might have influenced as well. Nevertheless, 500 children with oncohematological diseases have been treated, and additionally seven bone marrow transplants, 14 cardiovascular surgeries in children with congenital malformations, two renal transplants, over 100 malignant and benign tumor surgeries and a similar amount of orthopedic operations to correct several physical deformities have been performed until now.

It may be added medical, nursing, dental, psychological and integral rehabilitation care services.

Of more than 15 000 studied children, 67% had thyroid problems, and 27 of them required surgery. Likewise, 800 children suffering vitiligo, alopecia and psoriasis have been treated with the support of the specialists in the Center of Placental Histotherapy whereas several thousands have been immunized using Cuban vaccine against hepatitis B and BC anti-meningococcal vaccine.

At present, several Cuban physicians advise the treatment of children from Chernobyl at the Ukrainian spa located in Eupatoria. Dr Julio Medina, head of the medical services in Tarara, said yesterday that children continue travelling to our country, mainly from Ukraine, every 45 days. There are now 167 children and 50 adults.