The Cuban Response to the Ebola Epidemic in West Africa: Lessons in Solidarity.

In December 2013 the first case of Ebola appeared in Guinea. In September 2014 the United Nations (UN) and its specialized agency the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a call for medical collaboration in response to the medical crisis and social disaster caused by the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. Cuban authorities responded immediately to the call by offering specialized help for the epidemic, in collaboration with WHO. A group of 256 Cuban doctors, nurses and other health professionals provided direct care during the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Equatorial Guinea from October 2014 to April 2015. This paper explains the main features of the Cuban health system, describes the development of Cuba's international medical cooperation approach, and highlights the work done by Cuban health collaborators in addressing the damage caused by the Ebola epidemic. Information used includes reports and documents of the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba, reports of WHO and PAHO, and articles published in scientific journals and newspaper articles. The response of the Cuban medical teams to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa is only one example of the Cuban efforts to strengthening health care provision in areas of need throughout the world.

[A battle won: the elimination of poliomyelitis in Cuba]. / Una batalla ganada: la eliminación de la poliomielitis en Cuba.

Poliomyelitis was introduced in Cuba in the late nineteenth century by American residents in Isla de Pinos. The first epidemics occurred in 1906 and 1909 and increased in intensity between 1930 and 1958. The scope of the paper is to reconstruct the history of the disease and its epidemics in Cuba prior to 1961, the first National Polio Vaccination Campaign (1962) and its results, as well as analyze the ongoing annual vaccination campaigns through to certified elimination of the disease (1994). The logical historical method was used and archival documents and statistics from the Ministry of Health on morbidity and mortality through 2000 were reviewed. Gross morbidity and mortality rates were calculated and interviews with key figures were conducted.

Una batalla ganada: la eliminación de la poliomielitis en Cuba / A battle won: the elimination of poliomyelitis in Cuba

La poliomielitis fue introducida en Cuba a finales del siglo XIX por norteamericanos residentes en Isla de Pinos. Las primeras epidemias ocurrieron en 1906 y 1909, aumentaron en intensidad entre 1930-1958. El objetivo del artículo es reconstruir la historia de la enfermedad y sus epidemias en Cuba hasta 1961, de la primera Campaña Nacional de Vacunación Antipolio (1962) y de sus resultados, bien como analizar la continuidad de las campañas anuales de vacunación hasta la certificación de su eliminación (1994). Se siguió el método histórico lógico; se revisaron documentos de archivos, las estadísticas del Ministerio de Salud Pública sobre morbilidad y mortalidad hasta el 2000. Se calcularon tasas brutas de morbilidad y mortalidad. Se realizaron entrevistas a personajes claves.

Poliomyelitis was introduced in Cuba in the late nineteenth century by American residents in Isla de Pinos. The first epidemics occurred in 1906 and 1909 and increased in intensity between 1930 and 1958. The scope of the paper is to reconstruct the history of the disease and its epidemics in Cuba prior to 1961, the first National Polio Vaccination Campaign (1962) and its results, as well as analyze the ongoing annual vaccination campaigns through to certified elimination of the disease (1994). The logical historical method was used and archival documents and statistics from the Ministry of Health on morbidity and mortality through 2000 were reviewed. Gross morbidity and mortality rates were calculated and interviews with key figures were conducted.

Una batalla ganada: la eliminación de la poliomielitis en Cuba / A battle won: the elimination of poliomyelitis in Cuba

La poliomielitis fue introducida en Cuba a finales del siglo XIX por norteamericanos residentes en Isla de Pinos. Las primeras epidemias ocurrieron en 1906 y 1909, aumentaron en intensidad entre 1930-1958. El objetivo del artículo es reconstruir la historia de la enfermedad y sus epidemias en Cuba hasta 1961, de la primera Campaña Nacional de Vacunación Antipolio (1962) y de sus resultados, bien como analizar la continuidad de las campañas anuales de vacunación hasta la certificación de su eliminación (1994). Se siguió el método histórico lógico; se revisaron documentos de archivos, las estadísticas del Ministerio de Salud Pública sobre morbilidad y mortalidad hasta el 2000. Se calcularon tasas brutas de morbilidad y mortalidad. Se realizaron entrevistas a personajes claves.(AU)

Poliomyelitis was introduced in Cuba in the late nineteenth century by American residents in Isla de Pinos. The first epidemics occurred in 1906 and 1909 and increased in intensity between 1930 and 1958. The scope of the paper is to reconstruct the history of the disease and its epidemics in Cuba prior to 1961, the first National Polio Vaccination Campaign (1962) and its results, as well as analyze the ongoing annual vaccination campaigns through to certified elimination of the disease (1994). The logical historical method was used and archival documents and statistics from the Ministry of Health on morbidity and mortality through 2000 were reviewed. Gross morbidity and mortality rates were calculated and interviews with key figures were conducted.(AU)

[Public health in Cuba and its international experience (1959-2005)]. / La salud pública en Cuba y su experiencia internacional (1959-2005).

The past 42 years of Cuba's healthcare system have been characterized, among other things, by broad-based international experience and projects, which began in 1962 with the deployment of the first Cuban medical mission to Algeria. Since then, it has collaborated with more than 101 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, providing aid missions to areas suffering from natural disasters and sending medical staff to regions where they did not exist before. It has also helped some countries draw up medical development plans according to their specific needs. Cooperation with human resource training and development has also been carried out, with the result that hundreds of thousands of youths have been able to start their medical studies in countries all over the Americas and in some nations from Asia and Africa.

La salud pública en Cuba y su experiencia internacional (1959-2005) / Public health in Cuba and its international experience (1959-2005)

En los últimos 42 años de existencia, el sistema de salud cubano se ha caracterizado también por una amplia experiencia y labor internacional que se inició en 1962 con el envío de la primera misión médica cubana a Argelia y desde ese momento se ha colaborado con más de 101 países de Asia, Africa y América Latina, desde misiones de ayuda por desastres naturales hasta la colaboración con personal médico en regiones donde antes no existían, en la elaboración de planes de desarrollo médico con algunos países según sus necesidades. También se ha desarrollado una colaboración en el terreno de la formación de los recursos humanos, con el inicio de los estudios de medicina de cientos de miles de jóvenes de todos los países de América, e incluso de algunos de Asia y Africa.

The past 42 years of Cuba's healthcare system have been characterized, among other things, by broad-based international experience and projects, which began in 1962 with the deployment of the first Cuban medical mission to Algeria. Since then, it has collaborated with more than 101 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, providing aid missions to areas suffering from natural disasters and sending medical staff to regions where they did not exist before. It has also helped some countries draw up medical development plans according to their specific needs. Cooperation with human resource training and development has also been carried out, with the result that hundreds of thousands of youths have been able to start their medical studies in countries all over the Americas and in some nations from Asia and Africa.

La salud pública en Cuba y su experiencia internacional (1959-2005) / Public health in Cuba and its international experience (1959-2005)

En los últimos 42 años de existencia, el sistema de salud cubano se ha caracterizado también por una amplia experiencia y labor internacional que se inició en 1962 con el envío de la primera misión médica cubana a Argelia y desde ese momento se ha colaborado con más de 101 países de Asia, Africa y América Latina, desde misiones de ayuda por desastres naturales hasta la colaboración con personal médico en regiones donde antes no existían, en la elaboración de planes de desarrollo médico con algunos países según sus necesidades. También se ha desarrollado una colaboración en el terreno de la formación de los recursos humanos, con el inicio de los estudios de medicina de cientos de miles de jóvenes de todos los países de América, e incluso de algunos de Asia y Africa.(AU)The past 42 years of Cuba's healthcare system have been characterized, among other things, by broad-based international experience and projects, which began in 1962 with the deployment of the first Cuban medical mission to Algeria. Since then, it has collaborated with more than 101 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, providing aid missions to areas suffering from natural disasters and sending medical staff to regions where they did not exist before. It has also helped some countries draw up medical development plans according to their specific needs. Cooperation with human resource training and development has also been carried out, with the result that hundreds of thousands of youths have been able to start their medical studies in countries all over the Americas and in some nations from Asia and Africa.(AU)

[Change and revolution: the rise of the National Health System in Cuba, 1959-1970]. / Cambio y Revolución: El surgimiento del Sistema Nacional Unico de Salud en Cuba, 1959-1970.

This article studies the impact on the Cuban public health system of the political, economical and social changes that occurred after the 1959 Revolution, and the main transformations that occurred in the Cuban public health system during the 1960s, such as the creation of a new public health ministry, the nationalization of the pharmaceutical industry, the massive emigration of health professionals, a reform of medical studies, the creation of a Medical Rural Service, the incorporation of socialist principles in public health and the development of primary health care. As this article intends to demonstrate, these measures guided Cuban public health reform towards the construction of a state monopolized National Health System in 1970.