Radio Havana Cuba, October 18, 1999 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Monday, October 18, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO PRAISES RECOVERY OPERATIONS IN HAVANA FOLLOWING DESTRUCTION OF HURRICANE IRENE 2.- FIRST MEETING OF IBERO-AMERICAN HEALTH MINISTERS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA 3.- INFANT MORTALITY RATE IN HAVANA REDUCED TO 7.7 PER ONE THOUSAND LIVE BIRTHS 4.- VATICAN REPRESENTATIVE IN CUBA TO DELIVER MASS AT HAVANA CATHEDRAL 5.- EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT CUBA CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO PRAISES RECOVERY OPERATIONS IN HAVANA FOLLOWING DESTRUCTION OF HURRICANE IRENE Havana, October 18(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro has praised recovery operations in Havana following the destruction of Hurricane Irene. During a televised meeting Sunday evening with local officials from Havana, the Cuban leader suggested that national TV should also transmit all the efforts to counter the effects of the natural disaster and all short-term plans to re-establish basic services for the population and to help those affected. President Fidel Castro also pointed to numerous expressions of solidarity with storm victims by the local population, saying that Havana residents "were capable of confronting the natural disaster with unity and a spirit of cooperation." During Sunday evening's television program, it was announced that aid is being distributed to 248 families whose homes were totally destroyed and that construction materials were being delivered to the residents of nearly 17,000 homes that were partially damaged. Classes resumed today in Havana, while rural schools will open their doors within the next few days. More than 95 percent of electricity in the capital had been restored by Sunday evening. And clean-up teams had cleared away many of the nearly 2000 trees blown down by the winds of Hurricane Irene in Havana. According to an editorial in today's edition of the newspaper Trabajadores, "recovery efforts -- despite material limitations -- confirm the conviction that the strength of the Cuban people lies in their unity, organization and sense of solidarity." FIRST MEETING OF IBERO-AMERICAN HEALTH MINISTERS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, October 18(RHC)-- The First Meeting of Ibero-American Health Ministers was officially opened Monday morning by Cuba's Health Minister Carlos Dotres. The gathering is taking place behind closed doors at Havana's Convention Center and is one of many ministerial meetings scheduled prior to the 9th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, slated for November 15th and 16th here in the Cuban capital. Health ministers and deputy ministers from 17 countries and representatives of 13 international organizations are attending meeting. Monday's agenda included debates on three important themes: the effects of globalization on reforms of the health sector; cooperation in the health sector within the Ibero-American context; and primary health care as a priority to improve health care in the new millenium. INFANT MORTALITY RATE IN HAVANA REDUCED TO 7.7 PER ONE THOUSAND LIVE BIRTHS Havana, October 18(RHC)-- The infant mortality rate in Havana is currently 7.7 for every 1000 live births, making it the lowest in the country's history, according to the Director of Havana's Public Health, Dr. Lorenzo Somarriba. Emphasizing the priority of Cuba's mother-child program, Dr. Somarriba referred to the upcoming inauguration of maternal homes in the Cuban capital and on the refurbishing of the maternity ward at the Enrique Cabrera Hospital. He also mentioned local action plans to clean up the capital, which began long before Hurricane Irene last week, and pointed to health measures to prevent disease and epidemics in the wake of the hurricane. VATICAN REPRESENTATIVE IN CUBA TO DELIVER MASS AT HAVANA CATHEDRAL Havana, October 18(RHC)-- The Vatican's representative in Cuba, Luis Robles Diaz, will deliver a Mass at Havana's Cathedral on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of Pope John Paul II's election as the Vatican's Head of State. The press office of the Episcopal Conference announced that Cardinal Jaime Ortega will also participate in the Mass. According to Vatican sources, Pope John Paul II is the longest-serving Pope in history and interacts well with Christians of all denominations. Pope John Paul II has toured Italy 137 times and has carried out 88 foreign tours, including last year's pastoral visit to Cuba. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT CUBA Havana, October 18(RHC)-- A group of European parliamentarians, currently visiting Havana, toured health centers that have received humanitarian aid from the European Union. During a visit to the Centro-Habana Pediatric Hospital, the Vice President of the European Parliament's Development and Cooperation Commission, Fernando Fernandez, stated that it is necessary for European Union-member countries and Cuba to increase cooperation. Cuba is the only Latin American country that does not enjoy a specific cooperation accord with the European Union and the aid that the island receives from the EU is characterized as humanitarian, mainly in the health sector. [c] 1999, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. We welcome your comments and suggestions. For further information, contact us at: Postal Address: Radio Havana Cuba P.O.Box 6240 Havana, Cuba Telephone: (53) (7) 791053 Fax: (53) (7) 795007 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org rhc-eng-8201 1999-Oct-21 11:50:59