Olga Fernández

A Cuban revolutionary who developed the first community-based healthcare system in Latin America

Medical Activism in the 1930s

Olga Fernández (1905-1987) combined her medical training with revolutionary politics to create Cuba's first mobile healthcare units in 1935. Working alongside Fidel Castro's brother Raúl, she established "Health Brigades" that provided free care to rural populations. Her 1940 report Health as a Weapon of Liberation argued that medical care was essential to social justice.

Challenging Colonial Health Systems

Before Castro's revolution, Fernández ran underground clinics in Havana's poorest neighborhoods. She famously treated wounded protesters during the 1933 revolution, earning the nickname "The Doctor of the People." Her 1950s Community Health Workers Program trained 1,200 local volunteers, a model later adopted by the Cuban government post-1959.

Global Impact

Fernández's work inspired the WHO's Primary Health Care Declaration. Her 1960s initiatives in rural education and healthcare form the basis of Cuba's current Family Doctor Program, which has been replicated in over 30 countries. The Olga Fernández Health Equity Award, established in 2015, recognizes global health pioneers annually.