Cuban health ministry highlights work of its professionals in annual assessment

 HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 8 (ACN) The 2024 was a year of great challenges for health sector workers, who with professionalism and hard work guaranteed the vitality of services in the midst of complex situations such as the passage of two hurricanes, the occurrence of earthquakes and the disconnections of the National Electric System, highlighted Jose Angel Portal Miranda, Cuban minister of public health, in the annual report of the institution.

In the presence of Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuban president, and Manuel Marrero, Prime Minister, the minister said that several actions and projects were the fruit of the creativity of the so-called army of white coats, as a sign of its commitment to the defense of life, in a difficult economic context, aggravated by the intensification of unilateral coercive measures taken by the United States against Cuba.

Portal Miranda noted as main achievements the progressive increase in the levels of care within the network of institutions, the infant mortality rate of 7.1 per thousand live births, with a decrease in the number of deaths of children under one year of age, and the complex health intervention with multidisciplinary teams to improve indicators with differentiated assistance to 114,572 infants and 51,025 pregnant women.

To strengthen primary health care, in 2024 a new process of regionalization of services was implemented and the number of medical consultations increased to more than two million, compared to the previous year, thanks to the dedication and responsibility of the sector's workers, he added.
Despite the high infestation rate of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which caused the transmission of dengue and affected 73 % of the municipalities, and of the Oropouche virus, both situations were controlled and epidemiological stability was restored, the minister continued.

Portal Miranda praised the development of 2,767 research and innovation projects aimed at optimizing the functioning of the National Health System and, consequently, the quality of life of the Cuban people, as well as the implementation of constant training and professional development processes for health professionals.

He also addressed the current health challenges that require new strategies and improve the quality of services, such as the high population aging, the low birth rate, the increase in risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases, the recurrence of outbreaks of infections and the increase in teenage pregnancies.

In the conclusions of the meeting, the Cuban Prime Minister acknowledged the work of doctors, nurses and technical personnel, with high humanism, ethics and responsibility in medical assistance and patient relations, despite the economic difficulties.
He called for strengthening the work in the communities, improving the control and distribution of resources, continuous maintenance for the sustainability of medical equipment, prioritizing care for vulnerable groups and moving towards digital transformation and greater development of science and innovation.