This is why the risk of death during the first year of life is low on the Island. This is the commitment of entire multidisciplinary teams capable of overcoming the greatest challenges, thanks to the political will and support of our government.

Preliminary data, provided by the Medical Records and Health Statistics Directorate, indicate that this past year, born in Cuba were 109,707 children, 6,626 less than the previous year, with an infant mortality rate of 5.0 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Dr. Noemí Causa Palma, director of medical care at the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap), told Granma that we continue to be among the 35 countries with the lowest infant mortality rate and among the first in the region.

The main factors contributing to infant mortality, she added, were related to complications associated with premature birth and intrauterine growthretardation (IUGR), and despite efforts made in the care of pregnant women and newborns, and additional measures adopted, it was not possible to reduce their impact on infant mortality.

It should be noted that for the third consecutive year, the infant mortality rate due to congenital malformations was 0.8 deaths per 1,000 live births. The provinces of Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus and the Isle of Youth special municipality ended the year with no deaths from this cause.

This indicator is the best in our region of the Americas and is the result of the work carried out by community genetic services, the development of the national medical genetics network and the national program for the prevention of congenital defects and genetic diseases, Dr. Causa explained.

It is also significant that in 2019 there were no reported maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhage, a persistent problem in developing countries and an achievement for Cuba, the result of multidisciplinary work carried out over the past three years.

Essential objectives in maternal-infant health care for 2020, the doctor reported, include increasing multisectoral work to reduce teenage pregnancy and risk factors faced by women of childbearing age, such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, among others.

Efforts will also be focused on strengthening the monitoring of pregnant women at high risk during their prenatal care in order to detect retarded intrauterine growth and hypertensive disorders in a timely fashion, and prevent pre-term deliveries.

In the case of neonatal services, she added, efforts will be intensified to continue to increase newborn survival rates.

Similarly, health promotion and educational actions will continue to be expanded through the mass media, directed toward women of childbearing age, their partners and family members, in relation to the importance of taking folic acid to prevent congenital disorders, the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, health care for chronic diseases and pregnancy, the promotion of breastfeeding, and the prevention of accidents and community-acquired infections.

PRINCIPAL INDICATORS

-The preschool mortality rate – from 1 to 4 years of age – in 2019 increased from 3.0 to 3.5 per 10,000 inhabitants of that age, the main causes being accidents, acute respiratory infections and malignant tumors.

-The survival rate of children under 5 years of age to the fifth year of life is 99.3%. This indicator has exceeded 99 % for the last 20 years.

-The school age mortality rate – from 5 to 14 – remained at 2.0 per 10,000 inhabitants in this age range.

-The perinatal mortality rate was reduced from 8.3 to 8.0, primarily by reducing late fetal deaths.

-The total maternal mortality rate was reduced from 43.8 per 100,000 live births in 2018 to 37.4 in 2019, with 10 fewer deaths.

-Direct maternal mortality was reduced from 27.5 to 23.7 and indirect maternal mortality from 16.3 to 13.7.PER?

-Through the program serving infertile couples, more than 6,000 pregnancies were achieved, 2,000 more than last year. In the provincial service centers, six of ten couples assisted achieved pregnancies. In the Regional High Technology Centers, located in the provinces of Havana (two), Cienfuegos and Holguín, more than 200 pregnancies were conceived for the first time, using advanced assisted reproduction techniques.

-A merit for our country and for the National Public Health System was the ratification, by the World Health Organization last September, of our status as a country free of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis, granted to Cuba in 2015, as the first country in the world.

-In 2019, vaccination coverage of over 98% was guaranteed, protecting the child population against 13 diseases.

-Additionally, through the end of 2019, some 510 cochlear implants have been performed, since the beginning of this program.

(Granma)

At the close of 2017, Santiago de Cuba had the second lowest infant mortality rate in the history of the province (4.0 per 1,000 live births); but with the peculiarity that 49 deaths were reported in children under one year of age, the lowest ever figure in the territory.

The consolidation of these results goes beyond this province, as specialists from Santiago have contributed to the care of infants across the eastern region of the country, in fields such as pediatric intensive care.

In 2018, efforts are focused on the community extension of the provincial Human Milk Bank and the opening in the southern Children’s Hospital of a pediatric care ward for polytraumatized patients, which would make Santiago the third province in the country to offer this service. In addition, efforts are being made to prevent accidents, which are still the main cause of death among preschool, school and adolescent children, Dr. Pérez concluded.

(Granma)

But even more extraordinary is that the country has achieved the lowest rate in its history in 2017, four per 1,000 live births

Preliminary data, made available to Granma by the Medical Records and Health Statistics Directorate, indicates that 114,980 births took place, 1,892 less than in 2016, and 465 babies under a year of age died, 32 less than in 2016, the lowest number on record.

To appreciate just what this figure means, it’s worth recalling that in 1970, 9,173 infants died, for a rate of 38.7 per 1,000 live births.

(Granma)

A few examples are enough to demonstrate as such. Today, Cuba has the lowest infant mortality rate in its history. Standing at 4.1 deaths per 1,000 live births – which represents 35 less deaths of infants aged under one year old, compared to the same period of 2016 – this indicator is even expected to improve on this figure by the end of the year, thanks to the efforts of the Cuban public health system, and the commitment and vigilance of sector workers.

If an examination of the island’s health indicators is carried out, the improvements are clearly evident. Life expectancy at birth of the Cuban population, which has reached an overall average of 78.45 years, has continued to grow; and now stands at 80.45 years for women and 76.50 years for men.

The Health Minister also noted that the maternal mortality rate has been reduced from 42.6 to 38.0 deaths per 100,000 live births, representing six fewer maternal deaths. Likewise, as a result of the Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, in the last three years mortality rates due to this disease have ceased to grow.

As for areas such as hygiene, epidemiology and microbiology, Dr. Morales explained that the incidence of confirmed cases of dengue decreased by 68% compared to the previous year, while no Chikungunya cases were diagnosed. In mid-December, Zika transmission was reported in 18 municipalities of the country, with a continued decline in cases.

Meanwhile, the Minister noted the sustained increase in surgical activity, with the completion to date of 989,209 procedures in the country, (some 5,326 more than in 2016), and it is estimated that by the end of this year more than one million surgeries will have been carried out, for the sixth consecutive year.

In this regard, Dr. Morales also highlighted the increase in the number of surgeries using minimally invasive techniques, which represent 14% of total major elective surgeries.

Significant results were also achieved in the application of natural and traditional medicine, as the country produced more than 71 million units of natural products, the highest figure in its history.

Similarly, the Minister noted the role that programs for the replacement of medical equipment and the introduction of new technologies in the national health system, training in advanced technologies, and investments and constructive maintenance to health facilities, have played in achieving these strong health indicators.

“In the last four years, 24,317 pieces of medical equipment have been imported for a value exceeding 210 million dollars, benefiting all medical specialties and most of the health institutions in the country. This has made it possible to raise the quality of medical care for patients, in correspondence with the main health conditions of the Cuban population,” Dr. Morales explained.

These results, he said, are the best way to celebrate a new anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution and to continue fulfilling the concept of Revolution as expressed by the Comandante en Jefe, Fidel Castro Ruz.

Dr. Morales Ojeda extended the congratulations for the 59th anniversary of the Revolution to every public health worker, working in and outside of the country, in the 67 nations where Cuba now offers medical collaboration, and expressed his wishes for their happiness and personal and family success over the coming year.

“We have the conviction that there is no problem without a solution, what it takes is to find it, and this is possible if the collective becomes an army of thinkers, where everyone contributes,” he stressed.

(Granma)