Infant Mortality Rate in Cuba: Sancti Spiritus Registers 4.2 in 2015

Cuba ended 2014 maintaining the rate established during the last months of 2013, – 4.2 per 1,000 live births – the lowest achieved to date, and among the best in the world

The provinces of Cienfuegos, Pinar del Río, and Villa Clara reported the best rates, 3.0; 3.1 and 3.2, respectively, and those with rates below the national average included Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, La Habana, Sancti Spíritus, Guantánamo and the Isle of Youth Special Municipality.

Twenty-four municipalities recorded zero infant deaths. The difference between the national average and the rate in remote municipalities associated with the Turquino Plan was only six tenths, reflecting the uniform implementation of the country’s infant-maternal program and community based family medicine services.

Dr. Roberto Álvarez Fumero, head of the Ministry of Public Health’s maternity program reported to Granma that, during 2014, efforts were focused on reducing premature births, with progesterone prescribed in all pregnancies at risk for pre-term birth; maternity home use was more efficient; and treatment protocols updated, specifying that the survival rate of newborns weighing less than 1,500 grams improved.