Why Paul Farmer Nominated Cuba’s Medical Brigade for the Nobel Peace Prize

As the Trump administration continues its assault against Cuba’s medical missions — portraying them as “forced labor” and pressuring countries to reject Cuban doctors — it is worth revisiting the words of those who have worked alongside them.

For years, the story of Cuba’s health internationalism has been told by U.S. politicians and major media outlets that depict the missions as exploitative. Missing from that conversation are the voices of many of the patients, health professionals and public health experts who have worked with Cuban doctors around the world.

In 2007, the late Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health and one of the leading voices in global public health, nominated Cuba’s International Medical Brigade for the Nobel Peace Prize. Drawing on years of experience working alongside Cuban doctors in Haiti, Farmer described their commitment to serving poor and disaster-stricken communities as “astonishing” and argued that their work was “eminently deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Read Paul Farmer’s nomination letter HERE.