Mortalidad infantil en Cuba, 1969-1987 / Infant mortality in Cuba, 1969-1987

ABSTRACT

The available statitical data indicate that Cuba's infant mortality fell substantially, by roughly 71.5 percent, between 1969 and 1987. Especially great gains were made against late neonatal (7-27 days) and postneonatal (28 days-11 months) mortality, though reduction in early neonatal (0-6 days) mortality was also substantial, amounting to about 54.3 percent. In general the gains were spread fairly evenly amongh the country's provinces, with infant mortality tending to remain higher in the eastern provinces than in the central and western regions. A key factor contributing to these improvements was a policy decision made in the early 1960s that assigned high priority to health sector and lead to major improvements in the health services' organization, quality and coverage. Other changes that seem to have made significant contributions to this trend include improvements in living standards, sanitary and epidemiologic conditions, outpatient médical care, hospital care, and health technology