In this critical exploration of the state and future of post-pandemic medical internationalism, world-renowned expert Robert Huish draws on public health data and popular media reports in order to document Cuba's achievements and challenges leading up to and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Huish shows that Cuba's decision-making followed best practices in public and global health-notably by foregrounding disease prevention and health promotion ahead of high-cost treatments-in ways that worked until the post-Castro government lost its confidence and fell into old habits of courting Moscow for favours and seeking remittances from Cubans living in the U.S. Such miscalculations are what led to Covid-19 overwhelming Cuba's health system, which in turn led to a looming deeper crisis the country is now struggling to avoid.

Ultimately, Huish presents Cuba's experiences in ways that open new space for dialogue within the deeply polarized debates over its medical internationalism. This new dialogue seeks to answer the urgent question of how to make the ideals of international solidarity and networks of alter-globalization more resilient and capable of surviving the next pandemic.

Robert Huish is Associate Professor in International Development Studies at Dalhousie University, Canada. His research focuses on global health inequalities, and specifically how sanctions impact healthcare delivery. He has published widely on Cuba's medical internationalism and teaches a broad range of courses focused on global health. He is the host of the podcast "GDP," which covers a range of issues related to international development; is the author of Where No Doctor Has Gone Before: Cuba's Place in the Global Health Landscape (2013); and is co-editor (with Rebecca Tiessen) of Globetrotting or Global Citizenship?: Perils and Potential of International Experiential Learning (2014).