{"id":264042,"date":"2023-01-23T15:08:15","date_gmt":"2023-01-23T20:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=264042"},"modified":"2023-01-23T15:50:46","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T20:50:46","slug":"why-has-infant-mortality-increased-in-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/why-has-infant-mortality-increased-in-cuba\/","title":{"rendered":"Why has infant mortality increased in Cuba?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an <\/span>informative note<\/b><\/a> published days ago on its official website, the Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported the<\/span> death of \u201ceight newborns with low birth weight and prematurity\u201d<\/b><\/a> in January. It happened at the 10 de Octubre Gyno-Obstetric Hospital in Havana. Four of the babies \u201cdied after day 11 with presumptive signs of sepsis.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The note affirms that \u201cthe necessary measures have been adopted\u201d and that the hospital \u201chas the necessary resources.\u201d Finally, it clarified that a commission from the Ministry is investigating the causes of the event and that \u201cthe pertinent measures will be applied.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What happened, due to its unusualness, has generated comments and a negative state of opinion. On the other hand, it directly affects one of the most important indicators for MINSAP: infant mortality.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more than a century, the indicator has been <\/span>considered<\/b><\/a> one of the most sensitive and accepted measures of health and social well-being in the world. In fact, its reduction is part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.<\/span><\/p>\n

Infant mortality in Cuba<\/b><\/p>\n

According to the <\/span>50th edition of the National Health Yearbook<\/b><\/a>, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in Cuba went from 38.7 per thousand live births in 1970 to 7.9 in 1996. Since then, it has continued to decrease and between 2008 and 2018 it remained below 5. Rates of 4.0 deaths per thousand live births were obtained in 2017 and 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the Ministry of Public Health and the Cuban State, <\/span>having the lowest IMR<\/b><\/a> in Latin America and the Caribbean, and one of the lowest in the world, has been a source of legitimate pride.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, in <\/span>2021<\/b><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>2022<\/b><\/a> the downward trend has been reversed. Figures above 7 have been registered, which brought the country back to the results of the 1990s. The trend also occurs in a context of reduced birth rates.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cuba returns to an infant mortality of the last century<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n