The two countries have signed an agreement under which Cuba will make available to St Lucia "two or more ophthalmologists' who are expected to conduct eye examinations on locals with eye diseases.

A comprehensive summary of the agreement was announced last Friday at a news conference hosted by Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony and Cuban Ambassador Victor Ramirez.

Anthony said the Cuban specialists would conduct eye screening sessions in various parts of the island after which those in need of further eye treatment or surgery will be transported to Cuba free of charge.

Cuba Creates New Vaccine for Cholera (May 2005)
Scientists from Cuba have developed a new Cholera vaccine and are prepared to perform field testing in Africa prior to it being marketing on a global level.

The Vaccine is said to be generated from a variety of a genetically modified bacillus that transmits Cholera. 

Vice President of Cuba’s prestigious Institutor Findlay, Francisco Dominguez, said that they had successfully test 100 healthy subjects and that the research indicated that antigen is safe and acutely effective. 

Mr. Dominguez stated that the text phase will be to examine whether immunization with the new vaccine maintains its efficacy in regions that have high occurrences on Cholera, and where patients have secondary conditions such as AIDS, malaria, malnutrition, et cetera.  

Cuba have been engaged in dialog with Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, and South Africa on possible testing there. 

It was believed that Cholera disease had been eradicated from Latin America, but it appeared prolifically in the 1990’s, seizing thousands of lives. 

The Institutor Findlay has been purposed in the creation of a number of vaccines. It is credited for developing the only effective vaccine in the fight against type B Meningitis; a vaccine Cuba now distributes to several countries across the globe.

Caribbean Warned about Phony Medicines (May 2005)
An official from the pharmaceutical agency for the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) said that the islands of the Caribbean could become vulnerable to counterfeit drugs as a consequence of free trade.  

Francis Burnett, the managing director of the OECS drug procurement unit, urges governments in the Caribbean to appoint pharmacy inspectors to monitor the sale of medical drugs preemptive to the introduction of counterfeit in the region, according to the Caribbean Media Corp. Mr. Burnett alluded that in 2002, the World Health Organization (WTO) reported that telling fact that over 2,500 Nigerian children died as a result of phony Meningitis vaccines.  

Mr. Burnett cautioned that although there is little evidence of cases of counterfeit drugs in the Eastern Caribbean, counterfeit antibiotics and Viagra have been found in Bahamas, Guyana, and Trinidad.