2004: Infant mortality down to 5.8
• Sancti Spíritus: lowest rate at 3.3 • Eight provinces under the national indicator • Special Municipality of the Isle of Youth with 1.8

A sensitive health indicator, that of infant mortality, which demonstrates the protection and care any society offers mothers and children, has once again placed Cuba among the countries with the lowest rate in 2004 – 5.8 per one thousand live births – the lowest recorded in Cuba in its entire history.

This indisputable achievement in the protection of the elemental human right that is health, and especially that of mothers and children, has been attained in a country that has been attacked and blockaded for more than 40 years by the most powerful nation in the world which, on the other hand, has an infant mortality rate of 7.0, according to the State of the World’s Children 2005, a UNICEF publication.

Similarly, according to the indicators of that specialized agency, Cuba is located among the 36 nations with the lowest infant mortality rates.

Denmark, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Singapore and Sweden have the lowest world rate with 4.0.

The infant mortality rate, which includes all the deaths of infants born live up to the age of 12 months over one year, is an indicator that offers an idea of the economic-social differences existing among nations and even geographical areas within the same country.

One example of the equality of our social system is the similarity of the rates recorded in the 14 provinces of the country and the Special Municipality of the Isle of Youth. While Sancti Spíritus, the province with the lowest indicator, has a rate of 3.3, eight of the others are below the national rate (see table).

The number of births throughout 2004 fell to 127,062, giving a reduction of 7% in relation to 2003, and a total of 735 deaths, fundamentally due to the consequences of perinatal disorders, those occurring around the time of birth, the moment of highest risk for life, and congenital malformations.

Care and protection for mothers and children, on which our low infant mortality rates are based, are very well known and also constitute a worthy tribute to the 46th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution, the generator of the impressive health indicators that Cuba is able to demonstrate today.

The high academic level of the population, the universal, free and accessible nature of heathcare offered by qualified personnel that facilitates the protection and security of the family environment, complemented by inter-sectorial actions by local governments to the benefit of public health, are visible for all to see.

By way of example, specialized care for pregnant woman is initiated before the third month, with a general average of 12 consultations; while women considered to be at risk – due to suffering from diabetes, hypertension or vaginal infections – also have as many control checks as are judged necessary; if there are genetic risk factors attention begins in specialized consultations including genetic experts before pregnancy in all the country’s municipalities.

Childcare starts at birth with the relevant checks to determine the possibility of thyroid gland disorders that can lead to cretinism if left untreated. From 5-15 days after birth a test is run for phenilcetonuria, a metabolic disease that can also lead to mental retardation if not promptly treated and in the first year of life all babies are immunized against 13 illnesses.

That is it, in synthesis, while the UNICEF 2005 publication warns that the infancy of close to half of the two billion children of the world is harshly and brutally distinct from the ideal to which we all aspire.

In the context of these efforts for health in Revolution it comes as no surprise to Cubans that a commission of WHO/PAHO experts who recently visited Cuba should have qualified as "impressive" the protection the Revolution offers children and have stressed, moreover, that the greatest treasure of our country is its qualified human resources within an integral public health system.