Jamaica Hub for Cuban Eye Program

"Jamaica is to serve as the Caribbean hub for the Cuban eye care programme, which has reached out to thousands of people in the region, Cuba's minister of foreign affairs has said," according to a post on JamaicaObserver. "The main eye operating centre located at St Joseph's Hospital in the eastern section of Kingston has already served over 1,000 patients since it was established here earlier this year with Cuban technology and personnel."

This is the same eye program that the United States attempted to discredit, according to information found in the WikiLeaks. Click here and here for more information.

007 Goes Optic OR More on the Optic Connection to WikiLeaks

The JamaicaObserver reported "United States has again found itself in the line of heavy criticism as a result of confidential diplomatic cables published by the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks and a British newspaper for what appeared to be an attempt four years ago by Washington to discredit the Cuban healthcare system, including the long-running Jamaica/ Cuba Eyecare Programme. In the cables published on Friday, US diplomatic staff in Cuba are said to have scoured for 'human interest stories and other news that shatters the myth of Cuban medical prowess, which has become a key feature of the regime's foreign policy and its self-congratulatory propaganda.'

"The cables were sent at a time in May 2006 when the eyecare programme, which was running for just over a year, was being heavily criticised locally and calls were being made for its suspension because of serious complications, including blindness claimed by some patients after surgery in Cuba."

The WikiLeaks Eye Care Connection

The JamaicaObserver reports that "the United States sought to discredit Cuban healthcare including eye care treatment given to Jamaican patients, which was criticised locally, revealed in leaked United States diplomatic cables obtained by the WikiLeaks website and published by The Guardian" newspaper today.