POLISTENA, Italy (AP) — Italy’s southern Calabria region is the rare place in Europe where Cuba sends medical professionals under a long-running program that the United States wants to stamp out.

Cuba’s doctors for decades have worked in developing nations such as Gambia and Venezuela, skilled in providing care with scarce resources.

Over 200 now staff remote hospitals across Calabria, Italy’s poorest region at the tip of the country’s boot.