Cuba's Henry Reeve International Medical Contingent received the People's Peace Prize on Friday from members in the United States of the international campaign that advocated for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to that health team.

Washington.- The ceremony was held at Cuba's Embassy in Washington D.C.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, we have been very inspired to see how medical personnel from a small island under a criminal blockade risked their own lives to save others in different countries worldwide, Medea Benjamin, member of the campaign and co-founder of the peace organization Code Pink, told Prensa Latina.

The activist regretted that the Nobel Prize Committee did not recognize the Henry Reeve Brigade. That is why they decided to give them the People's Peace Award, which highlights 'the incredible solidarity, humanism, and values they demonstrated for so many years.

The Contingent of Doctors Specialized in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics was formed on September 19, 2005, in Havana, at the initiative of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, who then affirmed that it was possible to demonstrate how to respond to the tragedies of the planet.

The first emergency it faced a few days after its creation was in Guatemala. It assisted the population affected by the floods that occurred there in October 2005 and during the earthquake in Pakistan.

Cuba was one of the first countries to respond to the call of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations to face the Ebola epidemic in Africa in 2014, and in 2010 they assisted the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

More recently, the assistance of Henry Reeve professionals reached more than thirty nations to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

For its relevant trajectory, the Contingent - which honors the American fighter fallen in the island's wars of independence - received in 2017 the Dr. LEE Jong-wook award from the WHO, among other laurels.

The largest island of the Antilles has a long history in health cooperation since May 21, 1960, when it offered its first International Medical Aid after the strong earthquake in Chile. (RHC)

100 organizations and more than 40,000 people awarded the Henry Reeve International Medical Brigade of #Cuba with the PEOPLE'S PEACE AWARDS in recognition of their invaluable work and dedication #SavingLives and spreading internationalism and solidarity around the world #CubaSave pic.twitter.com/yGwYTm2KM6

— Cuban Embassy in US (@EmbaCubaUS) October 8, 2021