Cuba and UNESCO confirmed, today, their desire to enhance their cooperation in the field of science, during the visit of the Director-General of the Finlay Vaccine Institute on the island, Vicente Ferrez, to the Organization.
UNESCO Deputy Director for Micro and Natural Sciences, Shamila Nair Baduel, received the Sovereign Vaccine Project Leader against Covid-19 and Director of Research at the same Cuban Foundation, Dagmar Garcia, who praised the work of the Antilles State in the sector.
The panellists also addressed areas of exchange and cooperation between the multilateral entity and the Finlay Vaccine Institute, in areas such as Category 2 Centers, which are pillars that bring together international or regional experts and provide technical assistance and services.
Ferez and Garcia accompanied the island’s ambassador to UNESCO, Yahya Esquivel, to a meeting where participants also highlighted the importance of the Carlos J. Prize. Finlay UNESCO – Cuba Microbiology Institute.
The biennial award in memory of a Cuban physician known for his discoveries on yellow fever transmission was approved in 1977 to honor people and institutions with relevant contributions to the field of microbiology, including immunology, molecular biology, genetics, and related fields.
In the course of the meeting, Ambassador Esquivel highlighted the Caribbean nation’s commitment to the United Nations specialized organization in education, science and culture, which it joined 75 years ago.
In recent days, Cuban scientists have developed an intense agenda in Italy and France, in that order, as they exchanged efforts and experiences to create vaccines against Covid-19: Sovereign 01, Sovereign Plus and Sovereign 02, the latter being unique in the world and developed to protect children from two years of age. and five years.