The opening of the first school of Medicine in the Island of Zanzíbar, Tanzania

Abstract

The international collaboration is an unavoidable principle of the Cuban National Health System. We carried out this work with the objective of describing the foundation of the first School of Medicine in the Island of Zanzibar ,during the pre-medical and first academic year. We deal with the participation of Cuban professors who began the international collaboration in the sphere of High Medical Education in this African archipelago. We took into account the infrastructural difficulties and the goals achieved in the development of the main university processes founding the basis of this university centre. Besides that we highlighted the help given by the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, and the impact the foundation of this school of medicine had on the local population, leading to the straightening of the friendly ties among our people, and settling down the basis to extend the program of medical preparation to the island of Pemba and to found a similar School of Medicine in the continental part of the United Republic of Tanzania.