Croatian President Stjepan Mesić visited the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), west of the Cuban capital of Havana, which is attended by more than 10,000 students, mostly from Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.
During his tour of the international educational institution, built in 1999 on what used to be a navy base, President Mesić met with Cuban Science, Technology and Environment Minister Jose Miyar Barrueco and ELAM director Juan Domingo Carrizo.
Carrizo said that since the establishment of ELAM, around 8,000 doctors had graduated from there and were now working in their countries of origin. The ELAM campus spreads over an area of 1.2 square kilometres and has 28 buildings with 80 classrooms, 37 laboratories, five lecture theatres, student dorms, clinics and other facilities. Tuition, accommodation and food are free and the students also receive modest monthly scholarships. Around 100 students from the United States are attending ELAM.
President Mesić stated that the project was of great importance for Cuba and countries in the region and was proof of what could be achieved through solidarity, the Cuban Radio Guantanamo reported on its web site. After his visit to ELAM and a brief meeting with a group of students, Mesić commended in the book of guests the idea of the international school of medicine.