Introduction:

Cuban medical collaboration reached the distant and small Pacific Islands in the first decade of the 21st century, after having a presence in all continents and in 164 countries with an existence of more than 40 years since its beginning in May 1960. The impact achieved in these few years has been important in the improvement of their health indicators, as well as in the contribution to achieve a better universal coverage as the collaboration was implemented by means of the medical brigades sent by Cuba and also by the free training of medical students from those countries in Cuban schools.

Objective:

To present the contribution of Cuban medical cooperation to improve health status in Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu from 2004 to 2020.

Development:

The general results obtained through the different cooperation actions were presented. What was achieved in five of the Islands - Kiribati, Nauro, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu - was taken as an example and as a whole in a comparative way, which allowed appreciating the significant impact achieved in the health systems of these island nations, especially the expansion and strengthening of their technical capacities with the increase of human resources trained by Cuba.

Conclusions:

The importance of obtaining the help of a third party, which contributes with financing for the sustainability of the collaboration, is also highlighted, given that these are countries with very limited resources.

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