The Cuban Health Care System

Abstract

As documentary-maker Michael Moore explains, “Cuba is a very poor country, our embargo has made it very difficult for them, and yet in spite of that they are able to put together a health care system that guarantees they have a better life span than we do, a better infant mortality rate and more doctors per capita.”¹ A very different picture is offered by Jorge Salazar-Carrillo, a professor of economics at Florida International University: “After many years of disrepair, the Cuban health system is now in crisis.”² Similarly, Dr. Julio César Alfonso describes the Cuban medical system as “a disaster”—where doctors reuse needles to draw blood from patients, have a sharpening stone for the needles and use X-ray machines that haven’t been replaced since 1959.³ Empirical evidence gathered by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reveals a radically different picture. For instance, statistics show that the HIV prevalence for adults in Cuba is one-tenth the corresponding figure for the United States, a life expectancy that is comparable to U.S. rates, and better infant mortality rates, illustrating successful Cuban approaches to public health in at least some areas.