“No One Left Abandoned”: Cuba's National Health System since the 1959 Revolution

Vos, Pol De

doi:10.2190/m72r-dbkd-2xwv-hjwb

Cited by 37 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The Cuban government has demonstrated strong political commitment to health development despite the limited financial resources available to the country and the economical blockade imposed by US (Kuntz 1994;DeVos 2005). The present trial, as well as other pilot initiatives in the country (Sanchez et al 2005;Spiegel et al 2007;Toledo Romani et al 2007) received all necessary financial and human support from the government, which has also been remarkably successful in dengue prevention (Gubler & Clark 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

The unbearable lightness of technocratic efforts at dengue control

Toledo

Baly

Vanlerberghe

et al. 2008

Tropical Med Int Health

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Summaryobjective To identify key elements that should provide an added value and assure sustainable effects of the deployment of technical tools for Aedes aegypti control. We assessed community perceptions and household risk behaviour at baseline and after 9 months, and measured the trial's impact through entomological indices.results Perceived self efficacy to solve A. aegypti infestation and prevent dengue was not modified. We found no changes in behaviour. In the study area the container indices decreased significantly from 0.7% before to 0.1% 1 month after the intervention. Six months later, they had increased to 2.7% and uncovered new water tanks constituted 75.9% of all breeding sites. Over the 9 months after the trial the average monthly house indices were similar in the study and control areas. A technical approach and lack of community involvement in the trial's implementation were the main causes of these short-lived results.conclusions Top-down deployment of technical tools without active involvement of the community has a temporary effect and does not lead to the behavioural changes necessary for sustainable A. aegypti control.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

The unbearable lightness of technocratic efforts at dengue control

Toledo

Baly

Vanlerberghe

et al. 2008

Tropical Med Int Health

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“…In 1991, the government declared a 'special period in the time of peace', pursuing emergency measures that included a heavy investment in social and health sectors, notably in its primary health care system (De Vos 2005). While hunger was the norm, populations with higher health needs (pregnant women, children and older populations) were targeted for scarce food and products, such as milk and vitamin supplementation.…”

Section: Case Study 1 -Women's Health and The Era Of Structural Adjusmentioning

confidence: 99%

The global financial crisis: whither women's health?

Mohindra

Labonté

Spitzer

2011

Critical Public Health

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The global integration of trade and financial markets that has been the hallmark of the past 30 years of neoliberal globalization means that local economies can be shaped by economic events seemingly unrelated to the scale or geography where women's empowerment projects unfold. These global-local interactions raise questions so far largely absent in public discussions of the 2008 crisis precipitated by the US sub-prime loan scandal: what are the gendered effects of global financial crises; specifically, how do these crises affect women? And how do these market crises intersect with the non-market activities that are key to understanding gendered health issues in developing countries. This article addresses these questions by reviewing the literature on gendered health impacts of financial crises over the past two decades. We find that the manner in which national governments and the broader international community react to crises can either magnify (as illustrated through the impacts of structural adjustment programmes on women's health) or mitigate (as illustrated through the policies pursued following the loss of support from the collapsed Soviet Union on Cuban women's health) gendered health-negative effects. Lack of attention to gender-specific consequences of past crises or health-positive interventions into such crises has weakened the ability to advance policy advice on protecting women's health during the present crisis. The article concludes with a gender-focused critique of the dominant policy responses to the 2008 financial crisis and a call to undertake real-time investigation of gendered health risks and opportunities arising from the present crisis.

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“…When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989, foreign aid faltered, and Cuba’s economy and health suffered (7, 10, 12) (fig. S1).…”

Section: After the Collapse Of The Soviet Unionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…S1). By 1983, Cuba was producing >80% of its medication supply with raw chemical materials acquired from the Soviet Union and Europe, and there were scant reports of medication shortages (9, 10). During the embargo’s first 30 years, Cubans’ average life expectancy increased 12.2 years, comparable to Caribbean and South American regions (see the figure) (11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%