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Cuba

  • Cuba is another country that has created waves in recent times through its rapid progress in the area of healthcare.
  • The Cuban healthcare system is a highly structured, prevention-oriented one. Cuba spends 8.6 % of its GDP on healthcare. In 2013, close to 94.2 % of the total health expenditure was spent by the government. Healthcare represents 11.8 % of total government spending
  • Healthcare in Cuba is free and universal. It is enshrined in the Cuban constitution as a fundamental human right and is guaranteed by the state
  • Compulsory check ups help stop people getting ill. Patients are categorized from I to IV based on health risk
  • Family physicians, along with their nurses and other health workers, are responsible for delivering primary care and preventive services to their panel of patients — each physician takes accountability for about 1000 patients in urban areas
  • There is no alternative, private-payer health system. Physicians get government benefits such as housing and food subsidies
  • Cuba's literacy rate is 99%, and health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum