Koli said this while welcoming the arrival of seven Cuban doctors who arrive on Sunday to serve in the country’s hospital.
They were here under an agreement between Cuba and Solomon Islands.
Under the agreement, Cuba has committed to send a total of 40 specialist doctors to serve here and at the same time offered medical scholarships for our students to study in Cuba.
So far 50 medical students from Solomon Islands are studying there.
The country established its diplomatic relations with Cuba on Dec. 19, 2002.
The 2007 cooperation agreement is the first significant collaboration to be pursued by the two countries after seven years.
The World Health Organization has ranked Cuba among the top 10 countries with the best health care system.
Cuba also has a medical brigade of 21,000 doctors serving in poor third world countries worldwide.
Koli said Solomon Islands is prepared to learn from Cuba in efforts to improve the country’s health care system.
“This learning process is significant to produce a healthy population in order to become more productive in our development aspirations,” Koli said.
The current team and others who are expected to follow will work in the country for the next five years.
Other members of the present nine doctors will be deployed to other major health centers in the provinces after a month long familiarization service at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara.
