Two Cuban doctors, Dr. Miriam Palacios-Callender, a scientist, and Dr. Valia Rodriguez-Rodriguez, a doctor and academic, both residing in the United Kingdom, have launched a crowdfunding campaign to buy parts to build ventilators for COVID-19 patients in Cuba. This is an initiative of Cubanos en UK in collaboration with the Cuban Center for Neurosciences.
Cuba is not able to buy new ventilators or repair old ones because the companies that previously supplied ventilators to Cuba were acquired by the US company Vyaire Medical Inc. The US blockade imposed on Cuba forbids any type of trading, even of medical equipment in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as the crowdfunding project states, people still need treatment.
Cuban institutions in health, research and academia have come together to repair old ventilators and to build new devices to support infected patients. Funds from this appeal will support Cuba in building the ventilators using free open-sourced designs the international community has provided for free on the world wide web.
The funds raised from the campaign will be used to support the building of ventilators using the design of the MIT Emergency Ventilator (E-Vent) Project. The Emergency Ventilator Project is one of several teams that recognize the challenges faced by physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. These teams have worked together to find a viable solution to the problem of the critical global ventilator shortage.
For this ventilator project, Cuban scientists are working closely with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels), UCLA, and McGill University. Through collaboration, open-source information and solidarity, these groups can work around the US blockade of Cuba and help those in need of ventilators.
To date, the ventilator project has currently raised £18,690 but still needs help to reach its goal.
Please show your generosity by visiting the crowdfunding page for the COVID19 ventilator project for patients project here:
Watch this video on the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal for Cuba:
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