CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Cuba Advocates People’s Right to Health Care at International Forum

By Juan Leandro
CUBA, May 18, 2011.- Cuba’s deputy minister of Public Health, José Angel Portal, said that the Caribbean nation advocates the preservation of health as a basic right of all human beings and denounced that many people have limited access to health care services at the 64th General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) held in Geneva. Portal expressed Cuba’s concern over the current environmental, energy, food and financial crisis that cause hunger and malnutrition all over the world, particularly among the poorest sectors. In addition, he praised the positive discussion that took place at the meeting about the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and reiterated Cuba’s support of the WHO in the struggle against them.

Portal highlighted Cuba’s health achievements and the priority given by the Cuban State to this sector, which has allowed the country to reduce its infant mortality rate to 4.5 deaths per every 1,000 live births. He noted that life expectancy in the Caribbean nation has increased to 77.97 years among men and 80 among women, in a population in which 17.8% of its members are over 60 years old. The official pointed out that in Cuba, for every 10,000 inhabitants, there are 68.1 doctors, 91.7 nurses and 10.8 dentists. He added that more than 40,000 health professionals are making their contribution in 68 nations and thousands of foreign students are being trained in the country to become physicians.

Regarding the impact of the almost-50-year-old U.S. blockade of the Caribbean nation, he explained that between May 2009 and April 2010, financial losses to the Cuban health sector reached around $15.2 million. (Cubaminrex-RHC)