IN THE KNOW: Cuban health system

The Cuban health system, hailed as one of the most effective primary health-care models in the world, is designed for disease prevention in rural areas.

Healthcare is enshrined in the Cuban Constitution as a human right, so 498 polyclinics, the centerpiece of the system, literally bring healthcare to poor or inaccessible communities.

The Cuban government policy first focused on reaching people, mainly in remote rural communities, who have little or no access to medical services following the Cuban revolution in the 1950s.

The polyclinics were organized in the 1970s. Doctors and nurses participating in the program were attending to more than 95 percent of Cuba’s population by the 1990s.

 Source: WHO