HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 30. Djamel Ould Abbes, Minister of Health, Population and Hospital Reform in Algeria, highlighted the advances obtained due to the cooperation of Cuban specialists in the field of health.

During a meeting with the press in the capital of that Arab nation, at the end of the Cuban-Algerian Seminar on the Treatment of the Diabetic Foot, the Minister described the relations existing between the two nations as excellent, which date back to quite a number of years, the www.cubaminrex.u Web site reported.

Ould Abbes also highlighted that “Cuba is a model to be followed” while underlining the high quality level of the medical care given by the Cuban teams, the reputation of which needs no presentation, adding that "Cubans have a physician per every 147 inhabitants, which places the island among the first countries in the world in terms of health coverage.”

Cooperation in this field is reflected in the Agreement signed on February 18, 2010, between the Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform of Algeria and the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment of Cuba (CITMA), aimed at sharing the island’s experiences in the integral management of the Diabetic Foot with the use of the new Cuban product Heberprot-P, to prevent amputations.

Algeria has a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus –almost three million diabetics-, and by the year 2020 this figure can increase to almost five million. (acn)

Four pilot units for the Comprehensive Treatment of the Diabetic Foot composed of Cuban physicians and specialists are working at the University Hospitals Mustapha Pacha, Bab El Oued, Beni-Messous and Oran.