Pampanga copies Cuba system

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The provincial government is piloting a preventive health care system patterned after Cuba’s that would benefit the poor in Pampanga and other Central Luzon provinces, according to Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo.

The system beneficiaries would be households receiving conditional cash grants from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Instead of just operating a provincial hospital and 10 district hospitals, the provincial government would also deploy four mobile medical and diagnostic clinics to impoverished areas.

The adoption of the Cuban model was in line with the health program of the Duterte administration, Arroyo told some 300 public health professionals during a forum here on Wednesday.

“The Cuban government had no connection with the outside world so it relied on its own budget. It did so much with a little budget, using only public hospitals,” she said.

She said Pampanga could fare well because there would be more doctors for the province. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon