Cuba - Cuban Health Care Myth

For some strange reason people continue to believe in the Cuban health care myth. Just the other day at the pub I heard someone praising Cuba'a health care system and claiming it was better than in the US. This person also calimed Cuban pensioners were treated better than in the US.

My first reaction to all of this was, well then, why are so many risking their lives to escape Cuba? When Castro gave them the ok to leave a few years ago, over 100,000 Cubans left.

This post, which contains very graphic images, will dispel the Cuban health care myth. Warning: these photos are very graphic.

However, Cuba's healthcare system is much better than in most surrounding countries, but it comes at a price.

Whilst Cuba's medical achievements are undoubtedly laudable, they come at a price. The high priority that healthcare takes within government policy has meant a diversion of resources away from other sectors which, as a result, have suffered. Put bluntly, advances in biotechnology may not be fully appreciated by a population having to queue for hours to receive food rations. The introduction of emergency measures in 1990 to deal with the economic adversity precipitated by the collapse of the Soviet Union included near-total food-rationing. In part due to a lack of fuel, transport on the island is dire, with many Cubans cycling or walking. Housing stock is also in very bad shape. By the 1980s Cuba had a serious housing shortage and has since built virtually no new residential housing. Consequently, it is believed that some 15% of the country's housing stock is in poor condition, including some 1,000 houses that collapsed in the capital, Havana, in 1994 alone, and a further 4,000 that are still in a precarious state today. Poor nutrition and worsening housing and sanitary conditions have been associated with a rising incidence of tuberculosis - from 5.5 cases per 100,000 population in 1990 to 18.0 per 100,000 in 1997 (latest figure available). Thus, deteriorating standards of living are affecting Cuban health, despite all the positive achievements and efforts made on the medical care front.

And it would seem you can get good health care in Cuba - if you can pay.

Whilst on the one hand exporting medical experts abroad, Cuba also 'imports' patients by attracting ever-increasing numbers of health tourists. The economic crisis triggered by the end of the Cold War forced the Cuban government to start charging foreign visitors for medical treatment. Hitherto, foreigners were entitled to free medical assistance while visiting Cuba, just like their Cuban counterparts. Now, whole hospitals have been constructed that only cater for foreigners on a fee-for-service basis, including the Havana-based Hospital Cira Garcia, whilst some public hospitals reserve certain rooms for the private treatment of foreigners. Health tourism has become an invaluable source of much-needed foreign exchange.

I for one believe that healthcare and education should be free for everyone and Cuba should be lauded for making them top prioritites. But I hardly think it's a justification that the "revolution" was a stunning success. Clearly, that is not the case.

Prompted by Lost Budgie
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