4.2! Lowest
infant mortality
ever in Cuba
• Sancti Spiritus and Granma
reach an average of 3.2 and eight provinces report
rates lower than the national one of 4.2 • Isle of
Youth special municipality with 2.0 • Cuba among
countries with the lowest infant mortality worldwide
• In 2013, there were 125,830 births, 156 more than
in 2012, and 20 municipalities had zero infant
mortality, according to the Ministry of Public
Health Public Health’s National Board of Medical
Records and Statistics
Jose A. de la
Osa
As an expression of the Revolution’s
commitment to the health of mothers and children, in
2013 Cuba reached the lowest rate of infant
mortality in its history, 4.2 per thousand live
births, placing us among the top nations with low
averages.
This
rate reflects the quality with which a society cares
for and protects its children, their health and
welfare, and in the case of our country also shows
how an island of just over 11 million inhabitants,
blockaded viciously by the United States for over
half a century, is able to achieve such impressive
success.
During 2013, eight provinces
achieved a lower rate than the national of 4.2. Are
they Sancti Spiritus and Granma, with 3.2; Holguin,
3.3; Havana and Ciego de Ávila, 3.4; Pinar del Rio
and Villa Clara, 3.9; and Las Tunas, 4.0. The Isle
of Youth special municipality reached a record 2.0.
It is important to highlight that of
the 168 municipalities in the country, in 22 of them
there was not a single infant death.
The main causes of death of children
under one year of age are perinatal conditions,
congenital abnormalities and infections.
Among
these causes, the greatest decrease was seen in
congenital malformations, with the consequent impact
on infant mortality. There were 45 fewer children
who died from congenital malformations than in 2012.
This achievement keeps Cuba among the countries with
the lowest infant mortality from this cause in the
world.
According to preliminary data
presented by the Ministry of Public Health’s
National Board of Medical Records and Statistics, in
2013 there were 125,830 births, 156 more than the
previous year.
In 2013, Cuba consolidated the
results of a program to reduce complications and
maternal deaths, with only 26 deaths directly
related to pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum
complications, and had a maternal mortality rate of
20.7 per 100 thousand live births, the lowest in
history.
STATEMENT BY MINISTER OF
PUBLIC HEALTH
At the end of 2013, Cuban Health
Minister Roberto Morales Ojeda, in a meeting with
Granma, had words of praise for all public health
system workers, who he described as the "protagonists
of these results" which confirm the greatness of the
work of the Revolution now celebrating its 55th
anniversary.
He
made special mention of workers linked to the
Maternal and Child Program, who together with those
in support areas, have achieved the lowest infant
and maternal mortality rates in the history of Cuba.
The Minister noted that the
launching of a new effort to deepen the
transformations underway in the sector is a strength
which will lead to further improvements in
statistical indicators, but above all, in the
population’s satisfaction with services provided.
Morales also extended his
appreciation and congratulations to the thousands of
health professionals working in other countries who
contribute to maintaining the prestige of Cuban
Medicine by offering their collaboration abroad.
INFANT MORTALITY OVER THE LAST 54
YEARS
1960-2013 (Per 1,000 live births)
