Are you interested in the phenomenal success of healthcare in Cuba? Perhaps you are thinking about travelling to Cuba to receive some healthcare? Our guide to healthcare in Cuba gives you the facts and information you’ll want to know.
Healthcare is one of the great success stories of the revolution in Cuba. Since the revolution in Cuba in 1959 the average life expectancy of an ordinary citizen in Cuba has increased from 55 to 75 due to improvements in the healthcare system in Cuba. Today Cuba has the best healthcare system anywhere in Latin America, and Cuba can boast several healthcare statistics that place it among the best healthcare providers in the world. The infant mortality rate in Cuba is 7 per 1000, one of the lowest in the world thanks to the comprehensive maternal healthcare system of Cuba. Perhaps what is most remarkable about healthcare in Cuba is that all citizens of Cuba receive comprehensive healthcare whenever they need it absolutely free.
Exporting healthcare from Cuba
Since the revolution in Cuba, the government of Cuba have invested heavily in healthcare and over the past few decades have produced thousands of qualified healthcare professionals. Many of these healthcare professionals trained in Cuba have been sent abroad to developing countries in Latin America and Africa to aid in the development of healthcare systems in these countries. In addition all newly graduated healthcare professionals in Cuba are required to do two years community service usually in the rural areas of Cuba for very low wages.
Travelling to Cuba for healthcare
Many people from other countries travel to Cuba every year to receive healthcare and operations in Cuba that they would otherwise be unable to afford in their own countries due to high expenses. Although healthcare is not free to people coming from outside Cuba, it is nevertheless believed to be just as good as and a lot cheaper than healthcare in other countries.
Preventative healthcare in Cuba
Cuba is a small country that struggles economically, so the key to maintaining good healthcare standards in Cuba is to focus on preventative healthcare and keeping costs to a minimum. The healthcare system is built around local community healthcare, regional polyclinics and relatively few full scale hospitals. Only the most serious healthcare operations are performed at national hospitals while relatively minor healthcare issues can be dealt with at polyclinics in Cuba saving money.
