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Presented by Dr. Carlos Dotres Martinez, Minister Public Health
For the last 37 years the Cuban National Health System has itself been a social project to assure the equity, accessibility, and universality that all citizens require.
The health indicators of the Cuban people have outstripped those of underdeveloped countries. Cuban indicators have been in the forefront because the country's organization in the health field gives special importance to disease prevention and the promotion of health, and to participation by the entire community and all sectors, on the principle that "health is not just absence of disease" and that we are all, both the individual and the collectivity, responsible for it.
Education for all, free education at all levels and priority to the development of human resources, tens of thousands of physicians (I physician for every 174 inhabitants) and hundreds of thousands of nurses, technicians, and other professionals, express the priority given to this important sector of life.
Processes of administrative decentralization, intensification of community participation through the national, provincial, municipal and people's health councils, our quest to continue improving the quality of medical care and the efficiency of the sector, and to steadily improve our health indicators, have been impaired since 1990 by a tightening of the blockade, which debars Cuba from any advantage, credit or other health-related measure. The loss of our past economic relations and a drop of 35% in our GDP between 1990 and 1994 and of 75% in the our country's importing capacity have forced us to resort to exceptional measures to guarantee the human right to health to the Cuban people, who more than once have done and continue to do so much for the health of other peoples. That it may not lose any of the ground it has gained, the country is making, with political will, a tremendous effort in which the society is participating. The Health System has identified priority I formulas, strategies, and programs for the enterprise and, accompanied by the organizations of the United Nations system, calls upon all who are willing to invest for such a just cause--in a health system that has achieved and wishes to achieve what is best for its people--so that any action or program undertaken is bound to bear fruit in less disease and fewer deaths.
The analysis that follows recounts the diagnosis of a harsh period (1990-1995); between 1996- 2000 we propose to recover the lost ground, and it is for this that we call on those donors; we present to the world our diagnosis, the formulas for redressing the damage to the health system and, against this background, a portfolio of project profiles as a contribution to this enterprise for the quality of life of a people that wants to be healthy.
Many have already given and are giving us their solidarity, and are setting their friendly hands to this purpose- we thank them and to all those who join in this concert of heartfelt human solidarity we say WELCOME.
Thank you very much
Dr. Carlos Dotres Martinez.
Minister of Public Health, Republic of Cuba
Updated January 18, 1998
Representatives from InfoMed-USA recently returned from the international conference on "Resource Mobilization for the Health Care Sector," held in Havana, Cuba on November 24-26. Sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), it was attended by Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima (WHO Director) and Dr. George Alleyne (PAHO Director) and international delegates from many NGOs, as well as local officials. A diagnosis of the Cuban health system was presented and areas of priority need were identified and discussed. The conference ended with a call to all those willing to invest in a health system that has achieved and wishes to continue to achieve what is best for its people.
As one of the signatories of the Declaration of the International Conference "Resource Mobilization for the Health Sector," InfoMed-USA invites and encourages activists working in solidarity with Cuba and U.S. non-governmental organizations caring for the rights and health of others to work with the Cuban Ministry of Public Health and the Cuban people.
The U.S. blockade of Cuba has cost the Cuban people 60 billion dollars. The lives and health of many Cubans have been irreversibly affected. We must demand that the U.S. government lifts this immoral and illegal blockade at once. At the same time, we can express our support for the Cuban people for their heroic public health efforts.
Many NGOs and governments from around the world are already giving their solidarity. Until now only 5% of all humanitarian aid received by Cuba since the economic crisis has originated from people and organizations in the U.S., while the U.S. government imposes more sanctions and internationally sabotages Cuba's efforts to survive. Much more support is needed to address these serious needs and to counter-balance the shameful consequences of the U.S. blockade of Cuba.
Although some NGOs and Church organizations in the U.S. have expressed their concrete solidarity to the Cuban people (e.g.. InfoMed-USA has sent 800 computer systems to Cuban hospitals and clinics) the difficulties imposed by the U.S. federal government embargo have limited efforts by many others who want to help. The projects presented here, with their request for monetary investments, open doors and new channels for the American people and its many community based organizations.
A list of approximately 100 investment projects selected from priority areas determined by Cuban health officials and requiring immediate attention to regain the partially lost ground, was produced by the conference. Send us an email if you would like use to send you a copy. These projects have budgets ranging from a few thousand dollars to $100,000 and they are offered here to potential donors searching to re-build the bridges between our two nations. Other projects requiring higher levels of donations are available upon request. (Source: Republic of Cuba, Ministry of Public Health, Initiative for the Health Sector, "Health: An Option for Solidarity and Friendship: Master Plan of Investments in Health of Cuba. Havana, Cuba, September 1997)
Tom Kelly
InfoMed-USA
Email: jandtkelly@igc.apc.org
Dr. Victor Ariosa Abreu
MINSAP, Havana, Cuba
Email: msrint@infomed.sld.cu
Phone: (537) 32-72-00 Fax: (537) 33-43-41
| International Donor Contribution | Project Title | Portofolio # |
| $ 4,500.00 | Acquisition of equipment for therapeutic services for the municipal reference center for natural and traditional medicine | 3.8 |
| $ 7,000.00 | Improvement in the distribution of essential drugs to the population in seven isolated communities of Cienaga de Zapata | 3.14 |
| $ 7,000.00 | Improvement of the hygienicepidemiological surveillance system for the control of the physical effects caused by Chlorine Soda plant | 5.13 |
| $ 8,500.00 | Installation of the cold chain in the regionalized warehouse in Cardenas for the drug programs | 3.13 |
| $10,000.00 | Establishment of the center for documentation and training in alternative therapies | 3.23 |
| $10,400.00 | Implementation of machine translation services for health information | 5.4 |
| $11,000.00 | Improvement of the dissemination and distribution of drugs in the province of Santiago de Cuba | 3.12 |
| $12,000.00 | Managerial training in primary health care | 1.14 |
| $12,000.00 | Strengthening of the oral health information system | 5.3 |
| $14,800.00 | Improvement of the care given to older adults in the community, Cienfuegos province | 4.7 |
| $15,000.00 | Accident prevention in children (Villa Clara Province) | 4.24 |
| $15,000.00 | Prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS through the promotion of responsible sexuality in young adults & HS adolescents | 4.10 |
| $15,960.00 | Procurement of resources for the distribution of drugs to the population, Santiago de Cuba | 3.3 |
| $16,000.00 | Remodeling of the dietetics laboratory | 4.34 |
| $16,900.00 | Improved quality of care provided to patients with high blood pressure at the " 10 de Octubre" hospital, Ciudad Havana | 2.38 |
| $17,600.00 | Reduction of incidence of oral diseases in children under 15 through health education in the Municipio of Baracoa | 1.2 |
| $20,300.00 | Improvement of the supply of drugs to the population with optimal refrigerated storage, Santiago de Cuba | 3.5 |
| $20,500.00 | Improvement of the maintenance subsystem of the national health system ( per hospital ) | 5.12 |
| $20,700.00 | Improvement of the national health information system | 5.7 |
| $21,700.00 | Expansion of microbiology laboratory for control of nosocomial infections, C.Cespedes Hospital, Granma Province | 2.5 |
| $21,900.00 | Reduction of communicable diseases , Municipio of Songo, Santiago Province | 4.2 |
| $25,000.00 | Improvement of the diagnosis of vibrio cholerae and other pathogenic organisms | 4.33 |
| $25,700.00 | Upgrading of the municipal hygiene and epidemiology unit, II Frente Municipio, Santiago de Cuba. | 1.1 |
| $27,000.00 | Repair and remodeling of Heroes of Corynthia Polyclinic | 1.5 |
| $27,000.00 | Repair and remodeling of Heroes of Moncada Polyclinic | 1.4 |
| $29,000.00 | Improved quality of clinical laboratory network at the General Hospital in Santiago de Cuba | 2.1 |
| $29,000.00 | Improvement of health regulation and legislation | 5.11 |
| $29,000.00 | Improvement of the monitoring and treatment of chronic pediatric patients (nephrology, cardiology, hematology) | 4.18 |
| $30,000.00 | Creation of Emergency subsystem in Municipio II Frente, Santiago de Cuba | 1.1 |
| $30,300.00 | Increase in biological vascular prostheses and coating of synthetic prosthesis | 2.46 |
| $31,000.00 | Repair and remodeling of the physical plant to be used for the orthopedic prosthesis unit in Santiago | 1.11 |
| $32,000.00 | Improved quality of water used for hemodialysis (22 dyalisis units) | 2.42 |
| $32,000.00 | Reduction in the incidence of the chronic noncommunicable disease (NCD) and associated risk factors through | 4.11 |
| $35,000.00 | Improvement of drinking water quality in the municipio of Baracoa, Guantanamo | 4.5 |
| $36,000.00 | Treatment of drinking water in the municipio of Quemado de Guines, Villa Clara Province | 4.14 |
| $38,200.00 | Preventing sequelae from neuropathy epidemic in Cuba | 2.44 |
| $39,200.00 | Increase health awareness regarding environmental sanitation | 4.21 |
| $39,500.00 | Upgrading the Sancti Spiritus provincial center for public health, epidemiology and microbiology | 1.13 |
| $41,700.00 | Implementation of the surveillance system of medical equipment in the national health system | 5.5 |
| $43,900.00 | Development of a biochemical method for an early diagnosis of osteoporosis | 4.32 |
| $45,000.00 | Improvement of medical care in the central area of Guantanamo Municipio | 1.8 |
| $45,000.00 | Increased decision making capability of the nephrology service. "Dr. Agostino Neto" Gral. Teaching Hosp. | 2.25 |
| $45,700.00 | Reduction of the incidence of oral diseases in children and older adults through health education of the of the population in central provinces | 1.19 |
| $47,000.00 | Improvement of the quality assurance systems in the medical pharmaceutical industry | 3.19 |
| $47,000.00 | Restoration of the provincial center for hygiene, epidemiology, and microbiology, Havana City | 4.31 |
| $48,000.00 | Implementation of quality control in the sterilization process | 4.13 |
| $49,000.00 | Improvement of early endoscopic diagnosis of lung cancer | 2.2 |
| $49,500.00 | Strengthen the communication, information, and education activities that lead to a reduction in the incidence of STDs and AIDS | 4.26 |
| $50,000.00 | Improvement of the clinic for traditional medicine and natural medicine, Guantanamo province | 3.11 |
| $51,000.00 | Construction of municipal maternity home, Plaza de la Revolucion Municipio, City of Havana | 4.3 |
| $51,000.00 | Expansion of immunological techniques applicable to diagnosis, "Saturnino Lora" Hospital Santiago de Cuba | 2.15 |
| $52,000.00 | Improvement in comprehensive emergency subsystem in the western region of the country | 2.43 |
| $53,000.00 | Improvement of hospital therapeutic drug committees | 3.2 |
| $55,000.00 | Implementation of therapeutic plasmaferesis technique, Eastern Provinces | 2.12 |
| $55,800.00 | Procurement of raw materials for the Bauta Dental factory | 3.25 |
| $59,000.00 | Introduction of endoscopic surgery in urology services. "Saturnino Lora " hosp., Santiago de Cuba | 2.37 |
| $60,000.00 | Construction of a blood bank in the Municipio of Baracoa | 1.12 |
| $60,000.00 | Expansion of the medical emergency system at the hospital level, Baracoa , Guantanamo Province | 2.4 |
| $60,000.00 | Updating of laundry and dry cleaning equipment in critical condition at selected hospitals (5 ) | 2.1 |
| $61,300.00 | Expansion of the experimental station for medicinal plants | 3.4 |
| $63,000.00 | Improvement of the national program for evaluation of drug safety | 3.15 |
| $63,900.00 | Prevention of hearing damage in workers of the sugar industry exposed to noise | 4.19 |
| $64,000.00 | Improved quality of diagnosis and rehabilitation for patients with cardiovascular pathologies, Eastern Provinces | 2.13 |
| $64,000.00 | Introduction of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FBAB) for early diagnosis at the J. Albarran Hosp. and its health | 2.18 |
| $64,300.00 | Improved quality of program of care for diabetics in the Municipality of Plaza de la Revolucion, Havana | 2.9 |
| $65,000.00 | Prevention of maternal mortality from hypertensive and gestational nutritional anemia | 4.25 |
| $65,100.00 | Improvement of sanitary quality of drinking water. Municipio A.Rodriguez, Las Tunas province | 4.6 |
| $66,000.00 | Repair of protected workshop for rehabilitation of patients with amputations and psycho physical limitations with a vascular cause | 2.47 |
| $67,000.00 | Strengthening of health promotion and prevention of leptospirosis in the province of Ciego de Avila | 4.4 |
| $70,000.00 | Creation of emergency primary health care subsystem in Cienaga de Zapata Municipio | 1.2 |
| $70,000.00 | Improvement of the primary care emergency subsystem | 1.7 |
| $71,000.00 | Improvement of the community care for older adults in an urban area of Minas Municipio | 1.15 |
| $72,000.00 | Implementation of an information system by sampling in primary health care | 5.18 |
| $72,000.00 | Updating of steam generation, Saturnino Lora Teaching Hospital, Santiago de Cuba | 2.11 |
| $72,600.00 | Procurement of equipment and tools for air conditioning compressors | 3.3 |
| $75,000.00 | Improvement of control of viral vaccine quality | 5.15 |
| $75,000.00 | Technical and operational improvement of health planning activities | 5.1 |
| $78,000.00 | Improvement of living conditions in the Aneiro Subirat nursing home, City of Havana | 4.15 |
| $78,500.00 | Application of new bacterial control agents through computational techniques | 3.1 |
| $79,000.00 | Increased chances of survival in cardiac surgery. Cardiac Center of Santiago de Cuba | 2.16 |
| $80,000.00 | Improved climate control at pediatric services at Northern Hospital in Santiago de Cuba | 2.24 |
| $80,000.00 | Remodeling of Cienfuegos psychiatric hospital | 2.19 |
| $80,870.00 | Improvement of treatment of HIV carriers and AIDS patients | 3.26 |
| $81,700.00 | Prevention and control of arterial hypertension in the community with the training and involvement of health care | 4.2 |
| $83,500.00 | Procurement of equipment for the Bauta Dental Factory | 3.24 |
| $86,600.00 | Creation of three reference subcenters to disseminate selected information on preventive medicine and public | 4.16 |
| $88,000.00 | Expansion and renovation of microbiology laboratory at the "10 de Octubre" hospital | 2.4 |
| $88,500.00 | Creation of an epidemiological-environmental air pollution surveillance system | 5.17 |
| $90,000.00 | Replacement of cooled centrifuges at blood bank, Holguin Province | 2.45 |
| $90,800.00 | Implementation of transluminal percutaneous coronary angioplasty technique (TPCA) in the cardiac center of Santiago de Cuba | 2.14 |
| $91,000.00 | Improvement of electromedicine in the national health system | 5.9 |
| $94,800.00 | Improved quality of life for diabetic patients, "Salvador Allende" Hospital, Havana Province | 2.34 |
| $100,000.00 | Implementation of statistical information system on health services and hospital morbidity | 5.19 |
| Organization | Focus / Priorities | Email / Web |
| USA-Cuba InfoMed | Computers, hardware, software for health system network. | Dave Wald: david@cubasolidarity.net
Juan Reardon: juan@cubasolidarity.net http://www.cubasolidarity.net |
| US+Cuba Medical Project Life without borders |
Drugs & medications, pharmaceuticals, hospital supplies.
AIDS drugs & information exchange |
uscubamed@igc.apc.org
http://www.cubasolidarity.net/uscumedi.html |
| Global Links-Cuban Program | Hospital supplies, pharmaceutical | global@telerama.lm.com
http://www.globallinks.org/GLcuba.html |
| Cuba AIDS Project | AIDS drugs & medications | cubaaidspr@aol.com
http://www.cubasolidarity.net/cubaaids.html |
| Arizona Social Conscious Project | Supplies and pharmaceuticals for Cuban breast cancer clinics | billmiller@webtv.net
festival14vets@webtv.net |
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