Atlanta—A national program enrolling students from 115 U.S. universities is urging the Bush administration to rescind new restrictions on academic travel to Cuba. Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC), an Atlanta-based organization that offers courses in Cuba for medical, nursing and public health students, says that its electives are being "shut down" by the new rules, which take effect August 15^th.

Dr. Peter G. Bourne, Chair of the MEDICC Board, addressed comments to the Treasury Department today, attaching letters from 26 deans and directors of international study programs at U.S. health sciences schools, which gave MEDICC high marks:

• an "unsurpassed international health experience" with a "rigorous curriculum" (Dr. Marla Salmon, Dean, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, and Director, Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing);
• "a model of international education" (Dr. Linda Rosenstock, Dean, UCLA School of Public Health);
• an "essential part of our international health program" (Dr. Michele Barry, Professor of Medicine and Global Health, Yale University School of Medicine);
• an "educational curriculum unparalleled by any other international medical educational exchange" (Dr. Vince WinklerPrins, Dept. of Family Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine);
• "excellent educational programs" (Roberta Gianfortoni, Assistant Dean for Professional Education, Harvard School of Public Health);
• and expressing "strong support" for continuation of MEDICC courses (Dr. Patricia Rodney, Dept. of Community Health, Morehouse School of Medicine).

Since 1998, nearly 1,000 students have joined MEDICC programs in Cuba, enabling them to study one of the few universal health care systems in the developing world, internationally recognized for its impressive health indicators, says Dr. Bourne. He notes that course evaluations show that "the greatest influence of this program on future career plans is to encourage (students) to work at the community level, integrating prevention and health promotion into practice in medically under-served and immigrant populations in the United States."

But MEDICC will be forced to suspend its courses now, according to Dr. Bourne, since it is not a degree-granting institution, its students are drawn from schools across the country, and its programs last four to six weeks--"compatible with medical, nursing and public health school curricula"--not the ten weeks newly required by the Treasury Department.

The MEDICC Board urged Treasury to rescind the ruling, arguing that MEDICC participants have the "right to engage in serious academic study and exchange with colleagues in Cuba, and that the exercise of this right can only enhance the skills of our future health professionals and the health of people both in Cuba and the United States."

For further information: Dr. C. William Keck, MEDICC Board of Directors, and Associate Dean, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, cwk@neoucom.edu, (330) 325-6170.