Demographics and Health Profile of Cuba
Jalyn Lenoir
Institutional Affiliation
Instructor’s Name
Child 415
11/14/2020
Demographics and Health Profile of Cuba
The Republic of Cuba comprises the island of Cuba and more than 1,600 islands, islets, and keys covering an area of 109,884 km2. It is administratively divided into 15 provinces and 168 municipalities. Between 2015 and 2018, the population increased by 7.6%. In 2015, life expectancy at birth was 78.4 years (80.4 years in women and 76.5 in men), which has continued to rise in 2018. In 2015, Cuba obtained a high human development index, ranking 67th among the world’s 188 countries.
Social determinants of health
The National Health Policy considers health an essential component of human well-being and a strategic development goal. Health services are differentiated to meet the needs of each territory, community, population group, family, and individual to guarantee equity and efficiency based on an assessment of the health situation at each level of the system. About 90% of the Cuban people have access to clean water. Climate change in Cuba poses a risk in rising sea level, coastal flooding, salinization, and the destruction of the coast. These are among the few social determinants of the health of the people of Cuba.
Health Situation and Health System
The fertility rate has continued to rise from 2015 to the year 2018 with more live births. The infant mortality rate since 2015 has been seen to decline to fall to 4.3 deaths per 1000 live deaths. Perinatal disorders and communicable diseases have caused most of the deaths. The National Immunization Program, which protects against 13 diseases, has eradicated polio, diphtheria, measles, whooping cough, rubella, mumps, neonatal tetanus, and TB meningitis in children under 1 year, congenital rubella syndrome, and post-mumps meningoencephalitis.
Vaccination coverage remained above 98.7% in the period analyzed at all territorial levels. Non-communicable diseases such as cancer, hypertension, and heart diseases have continued to rise by 24% from 2015 to 2018, in which a majority of the group is between 40 and 80. Cuba is involved in various medical research to improve the lives of its people. Their biotechnology industry is a major source of financing through the manufacture of generic drugs and vaccines.
Achievements, Challenges and Perspectives
Cuba has been recognized by the World Health Organization as the first country in the world to discover the elimination of the transfer of HIV from mother to child as well as congenital syphilis. The country’s dynamics and demographics are a priority. Most recent issues include low fertility of the population, aging, and an increase in patients affected by non-communicable diseases such as cancer. These chronic diseases result in high mortality rates that affect the country’s development as more human, material and financial resources are allocated to mitigate these issues. The development of new interventions deem necessary in Cuba to improve resilience and the capacity to respond in the health sector.
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