2004:Venezuela and Cuba Establish a Free Eye-Care Program   

                               Four Million People in 34 Countries Have Their Sight Restored   

Launched in 2004, Mission Milagro (Miracle) began as a bilateral program between Cuba and Venezuela when it became evident to teachers working in Venezuela’s literacy campaign that many prospective students couldn’t see, thereby remaining beyond the program’s reach [1] The first Mission Milagro surgeries were performed in July 2004. Venezuelan patients were flown to Havana with a family member, received surgical treatment and accommodated at a hotel. In addition to the surgery and medicines, all transportation, food and lodging for both the patient and their escort were free of charge. By the end of 2004, 14,000 Venezuelans had their sight restored in this first phase of the program [1]. The second phase began in 2005 when Caribbean countries including Jamaica, Dominica and St Lucia joined. The third phase began at the end of 2005 with the inauguration of ophthalmology screening and surgery centers in participating countries.[1] Over the period 2001-2009, Mission Milagro received a total of US $159 million from the Venezuelan government [2].

The U.S. government brought pressure on countries to end their participation in Mission Milagro [3]. In July of 2007, the Mexican government prevented the landing of a Venezuelan airplane that had arrived to collect a group of ten children and 80 seniors who were to be operated on in Venezuela [3]. The Mexican daily newspaper La Jornada regretted that the government had behaved “as a subordinate of Washington” [3]

By 2017 Mission Milagro was running sixty-nine ophthalmology clinics in fifteen countries and by early 2019 over four million people in thirty-four countries had benefited [4] The praise of Operation Milagro has been extensive. Typical is the comment of Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines:[5]

·       “Operation Milagro is humanity at its best. It is something that has never happened before in the world and is an incredible gesture of international solidarity. Its impact on the region has been spectacular.”

 

   


 

1.     Gorry, Conner, Sight for Sore Eyes: Cuba’s Vision Restoration Program, MEDICC Review, Spring 2008.

2.     Zakrison, Tanya, et al, The Politics of Avoidable Blindness in Latin America-Surgery, Solidarity, and Solutions: The Case of Mision Milagro, International Journal of Health Services, Vol 42, Number 3, 2012

3.     Lamrani, Salim, The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America: The Challenges of Social Integration, International Journal of Cuban Studies, Autumn/Winter, 2012.

4.     Yaffe, Helen, Cuba Sends Doctors, the US Sends Sanction, Jacobin, March 8, 2025

5.     Kirk, Emily, Operation Miracle: A New Vision of Public Health, International Journal of Cuban Studies, Winter 2011.

 

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