CUBAN TRANSITIONS

One of the triumphs of the Revolution was the access to a free health care system to the entire population regardless of income, race, occupation, etc. In the government’s view, to be healthy and receive treatment when you are in need of it is a human right, not a privilege. Therefore, after their triumph they worked to provide this for all Cubans. In 1959, there was only one medicinal university in the country and so the Revolutionary government opened more making Cuba today a country with 21 medicine schools including, the Latin American School of Medicine.

The structure of the health care system in Cuba consists of four levels. The first is very grassroots in that there are family doctors living in each community . If someone gets sick, they are the first to respond. If needed, the ill person is taken to a poli clinic. There are over 400 poli clinics located around the country.  It is important to note that at this level, there is a focus on health promotion and illness prevention. Additionally, there are two programs that are priorities which are the Infant Motherly Program and the Elderly Program. After this primary level, there are the provisional hospitals that make up the second level. These hospitals deal with the more serious illnesses.  Then at the third and fourth levels of the health care system are the research institutes and specialized schools and facilities, respectively.

Other important facts that I learned about health care in Cuba is that 80% of Cuban medication is made domestically while 20% is made abroad and imported. Also, Cuba has a high life expectancy rate and has the 2^nd lowest infant mortality rate in the Americas. Regarding doctors, there are currently 35,000 doctors working abroad. Additionally, doctors are required to work as family doctors for three years after studying for six.

Overall, the Cuban health care system seems to be effective in providing the health care right to its people. However, it is proving to be difficult with the U.S. embargo still in place. The United States has 8 of the ten most important pharmaceutical companies and 7 of the ten most important banks so it is difficult for medical supplies to reach Cuba.

The United States must change its policies to embrace the notion that health care is a right not a privilege. First, the U.S. should follow Cuba in providing free health care to all people (citizen and non-citizen) and make it more grassroots with a family doctor in each community.  Additionally, the government should take down the embargo since it is causing more difficulties for the Cuban government to provide its citizens with the right to health care.

Although on paper the Cuban health care system seems almost perfect, I still have my doubts about it. One of the things I noticed when I was in Cuba and more specifically in Havana, the capital and largest city on the island, was that I did not see any ambulances and I went days without hearing any sirens whatsoever. Coming from a big city in the United States where I often heard at least one siren a night whether it be from an ambulance, fire truck or police, I was struck at the absence of them in Havana which concerns me. Maybe I am wrong and the health care system is perfect but two weeks was not enough to actually get the full picture.