PHM-Exch> Dr Luther Castillo update: Takeover of Indigenous Garifuna Community Hospital in Honduras

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Maria Hamlin Zuniga maria at mundonica.com


-Here is new information on the work of Dr. luther Castillo, following
up on the Exchange article on July 8th.
>
>                                       Before and After -hospital
>
>        August 11 - Despite objections by local Garifuna communities,
> Honduras' defacto government is moving to take over the first and only
>  Garifuna-managed hospital in the country, ousting its current staff.
>    The facility-built by Dr. Luther Castillo, other Garifuna doctors,
>    local architects, and the communities themselves-is located in the
>                            remote coastal municipality of Iriona.
>
> Last week, says Dr. Castillo, the defacto ministry of health notified
>    hospital staff that the facility was being downgraded to a health
>       center "under new management". "They told us that the Garifuna
> staff-both doctors and locally-trained nurses aides-will be fired," he
>   told MEDICC. "These measures would condemn to death many of our old
>       and seriously ill people, and stop all outreach and prevention
>                                              services."
>
>      However, he said the staff is staying put, and vows to continue
> working, even without the small stipend the government had provided in
>       the past and with no guarantee of medicines or vital supplies.
>
>   "We will not abandon our people," said Dr. Castillo. "These are the
> poorest of the poor, the invisible poor. They are the real victims of
>    the coup," he told MEDICC."And they are the reason so many of our
>       young people decided to become doctors in the first place."
>
>  Some 300 representatives of local Garifuna governments gathered last
>    week to support the hospital and its staff, and have declared they
>         will not recognize the defacto government's takeover move.
>
>    The Garifuna hospital officially opened in December 2007, under an
>     agreement with the government of President Manuel Zelaya, and in
>    accordance with an International Labor Organization covenant that
>    supports locally-managed health services for indigenous and tribal
>     peoples. Since then, according to Dr. Castillo, the ten Garifuna
>    doctors staffing the hospital have treated over 175,000 cases. The
>     physicians-all graduates of the Latin American Medical School in
> Havana-attend patients at outlying clinics and on regular home visits.
> The original government agreement permitted this medically underserved
>   region to rely on hospital services, including birthing, surgeries,
>              hospitalization, dental care and laboratory tests.
>
>                                         TAKE ACTION NOW!
>
>      MEDICC is joining other U.S. organizations such as Global Links
> (www.globallinks.org) to stand with the staff and over 30,000 patients
>             of the only Garifuna Community Hospital in Honduras.
>
>                                    Here's what you can do:
>
>    1) DONATE to keep the hospital alive.  Your donation to Honduras'
> First Garifuna Hospital will help pay small stipends to physicians and
>   nurses' aides, and help stock the hospital with essential medicines
>                                 and supplies. (Donate Here)
>
>    2) SPEAK UP! Take this message to your city council, labor union,
> student or professional organization, asking them to pass a resolution
> in support of the Garifuna Indigenous Hospital in Honduras. Send these
>  resolutions to us, and publicize them in your local media and on the
>                                                  web.
>
>     3) GET READY TO GO on a delegation to Honduras as a "Witness for
>      Health" to help guarantee the safety and rights of the Garifuna
>                   hospital staff. More information coming soon.
>
 4) Keep Honduras in the public eye: Circulate this alert widely. GO ON
>      THE WEB: use your blogs, listservs and networks to get the word
>                                                out.
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20090812/a1eef7b3/attachment-0001.html>