Cuba has a universal healthcare system that is funded by the government. It has a high number of medical facilities and healthcare workers per capita. All citizens and residents have access to insurance that covers medical benefits. The government allocates a large portion of its budget to healthcare and operates public health programs through institutions like the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Havana. Cuba's existing socialized healthcare system and experience responding to emergencies helped it effectively implement strategies to control COVID-19.

1. HEALTH CARE
SYSTEM OF CUBA
PRESENTED BY IMRANA
MUMTAZ

2. INTRODUCTION
 An island nation in the Caribbean
 Area: 43,189 square miles
(111,860 square kilometers)
 Population:11.1Million (July 2012)
 Became independent in 1902 from
US occupation
 Capital: Havana

3. MAP OF CUBA

4. HEALTH SYSTEM

5. Emergency Health Services
 According to WHO, as of 2007, Cuba had a formal and
publicly available emergency care (prehospital care) system,
accessible through both a national universal access telephone.
Insurance
 Cuba has a social insurance system with universal medical
benefits for all citizens and residents
 Cash sickness benefits are available to employed people, the
military, interior ministry staff, and members of agricultural
cooperatives
 The program is administered by the Ministry of Labor and Social
Security.

6. Costs of Hospitalization
 In 2006,Cuba allocated 1.66 billion pesos,
or 52.0 percent of its health budget, to
hospital care
Cost of Drugs
 Many drugs and biological products are
produced locally in Cuba, and
manufacturing is in compliance with WHO
standards.
 In 2005,Cuba’s expenditures for drugs and
related supplies were 308.0 million pesos.

7. HEATH CARE FACILITIES
Cuba has a network of health care facilities including
248 hospitals,
470 laboratories in polyclinics
248 laboratories in secondary care facilities,
1,228 oral health care facilities,
The National Blood and Transfusion Medicine Program
includes
27 provincial blood banks,
35 municipal blood banks,
121 permanent blood collection centers,

8. Major health issues
In 2008, WHO estimated that
number of life lost in Cuba
were
• 8% to communicable diseases,
• 78%to noncommunicable diseases,
• 13% to injuries.
In 2008, the age-standardized
estimate of cancer deaths
was
• 160 per 100,000 for men
• 114 per 100,000 for women
For cardiovascular disease
and diabetes,
• 236 per 100,000 for men
• 194 per 100,000 for women
For chronic respiratory
disease,
• 23 per 100,000 for men
• 18 per 100,000 for women.

9. Health Care Personnel
 Cuba has 14 medical schools.
 The basic course of training lasts six years
 and the degree awarded is Doctor en Medicina
(doctor of medicine).
 Government service is obligatory after
graduation.
 Cuba also provides free premedical and medical
education for citizens of other countries at the
Latin American School of Medicine in Havana.

10. Government Role in Health Care
 In 2010, Cuba allocated 17 percent of
total government expenditures to health.
 Health care was funded entirely through domestic sources.
Public Health Programs
 The Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kouri” (IPK),
located in Havana is Cuba’s leading public health institute.
 IPK has a staff of 700 organized into five departments:
microbiology, parasitology, medical care, epidemiology, and
teaching.
 Its primary goals are to prevent the spread of disease,
collaborate with international health institutes, and facilitate
biomedical training and research.

11. In the context of the Cuban response to the COVID-19
pandemic, it is important to note certain pre-existing
conditions that benefitted the implementation of the national
strategy. These include
 universal healthcare,
 the highest per capita of medical doctors/millions of
inhabitants worldwide,
 a well-structured primary healthcare system,
 a previous history of facing emergency situations
during the annual hurricane season (Morris and Kelman,
2020).
 the existence of a state-controlled economy
 public health policies
 expedited the mobilization of emergency resources and
facilitated the rapid isolation of confirmed cases as well as
their contacts
Evolution of daily confirmed cases in
Cuba.
The Cuban Strategy for Combatting
the COVID-19 Pandemic