Because of the US-imposed blockade on Cuba and previous dependence on the Soviets, the fall of the Soviet Union has caused the former surplus of medicine and medical equipment to give way to shortages. In an attempt to become self-sufficient, Cuba has embarked on an effort, unprecedented in this world, to re-convert to traditional medicine, while retaining the important advantages conventional medicine provides. With the exception of pharmaceutical companies, the success of this transformation will benefit each and every person on this planet. Production of natural medicines, when done properly, takes fewer non-renewable resources, and causes fewer harmful side-effects on people and the environment.

Here in the US natural practitioners are considered "alternative." The Cuban people do not like to call it "alternative," but call it medicina tradicional y verde (traditional green medicine). When the blockade is ended, Cuban medical researchers will again be leaders in medical research. Even with the blockade, they are beginning to show the world that reconverting to traditional medicine is appropriate in technologically advanced countries.

The following statistics will begin giving us an understanding of the successes of Cuban healthcare: Cuba's Department of Public Health reports that the infant mortality rate there is 7.9 in 1,000 live births, much lower than in other Latin American countries. Sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS are not rampant

Prior to the 1990's, 20 percent of the Cuban people were obese... now the overweight people one sees are primarily Western tourists.

as they are in nearby countries and Puerto Rico. People with AIDS have special clinics where they continue to collect their salary. They have access to constant care and free medicine, and better food than elsewhere in the country. In the US, AIDS patients are threatened with losing their health insurance if they even have it, losing their job and income, and even losing their housing.

According to the 1994 Statistical Abstract of the World, life expectancy in Cuba is 76 years, comparable to that in the US. This is despite the fact that Cubans are being prevented from purchasing pacemakers and kidney dialysis machines by the US blockade. Healthcare is free for all citizens. There is a doctor for every 174 inhabitants and six hospital beds per 1,000 people. The average hospital stay in intermediate care is ten days. Cuba sponsors students from other countries to attend Cuban medical school for free, and sends more doctors abroad per capita than does any other country in the world (while the US sends more soldiers abroad per capita than any other country).

Something Worth Fighting For
There are tremendous economic savings in medicine in Cuba because companies do not compete for sales. Researchers work together instead of in competition. There is also no need for large expenditures on advertising. In the US, a large share of the money spent on medicine goes into advertising and promotion. Much of the promotion is to influence physicians' prescribing habits.

Cuban companies are similar to US non-profits. The primary purpose of hospitals and nursing homes in Cuba is to care for people, not to make money. One tenet of the Cuban system is that health care is a right for all citizens. Another tenet is that illness should not be exploited for profit.

The Cuban people really have something worth fighting for. The Central American Fact Book reports that before the Cuban revolution there was only one large medical facility in the entire country. There was only one medical school and only 6,000 doctors, most of whom practiced in the wealthy districts of Havana. Disease was rampant, and the infant mortality was 60 for every 1,000 live births. There were no departments for public health or sanitation. The life expectancy was 60 years of age.

Although half of the doctors fled to the US just after the revolution, there are now 62,500 doctors and nearly 800,000 health care workers, including doctors, nurses, technicians, and hospital personnel. There are now two medical schools, 52 health technical schools, 21 large medical facilities and four dental schools distributed in 14 provinces. Maternal mortality in pregnancy has decreased from 12.5 to 2.4 percent. In 1995, 4,500 new doctors graduated, and all were placed in jobs. Every seven years, Cuban doctors and teachers have a sabbatical year to study and retrain at full pay. Cuban workers get three months of paid maternity leave at full salary, with three more available at 60 percent of their salary (The Townsend Letter for Doctors 1/95).

Huge Experiment
Cuba is currently heavily investing in organic agriculture, and in alternative medicine. There will soon be five clinics for alternative medicine in Havana alone. Farmer's markets and organic gardens are found in most neighborhoods. Most hospitals and places of employment have a vegetable garden nearby where employees are paid to work, to provide meals for employees/patients. Recently, Cuba invested heavily in building and buying two million bicycles, which are now a primary form of personal and business transportation. This was necessary due to the blockade, which decreases the petroleum and other raw materials getting to Cuba.

If this sounds to you like the ideal climate for a huge experiment in alternative medicine, it is. All people get their important health care needs met. They do not abuse this right, and they cannot believe the US does not provide this for the people. After having been to Cuba even for a short time, I found it difficult to readjust to the reality that health care is not considered a right in the wealthy US, and that illness is exploited for profit.

Attempting to stifle the example of Cuban health care could be part of the reason for the blockade. Just think back to how hard the insurance industry fought to prevent Washington State Health Commissioner Deborah Senn from being re-elected, and to prevent health care reform nationally. Remember also how hard the people fought to keep Deborah Senn as Commissioner, and you will understand the reason that the example of the Cuban Revolution represents such a threat to monied interests.

The Blockade - Partly a Blessing?
It is because of the US blockade that the average caloric intake of Cubans is half that of North-Americans, and that between 1992 and 1993, the average Cuban male lost 11 pounds, and females lost 7 pounds (Global Exchanges Newsletter Summer '95). Associated with the weight loss in women is an increase in low birth weight babies, which can lead to long-term health problems.

Although the deprivations have been very hard in some ways, there have been notable benefits. The cancer rate has dropped, presumably due to the low fat and low meat diet. People eat primarily beans, rice, potatoes, and bread, an egg for breakfast, and occasionally chicken.

Prior to the 1990's 20 percent of the Cuban people were obese and 37 percent were overweight. Now the overweight people one sees are primarily Western tourists.

Because of the blockade, medical equipment and drugs purchased outside the country, when even available to buy, cost three to four times what they would cost without the blockade. Despite this, Cuban medical researchers have developed new allopathic treatments for conditions including streptokinase for treating strokes, a better hepatitis vaccine, and a drug far safer than US pharmaceutical drugs for hypercholesterolemia. Cuban researchers have also come up with new therapies for psoriasis, alopecia, premature aging of the skin, vitiligo, and retinitis pigmentosa. Many Americans continue to needlessly suffer from these conditions, in part because they have not been exposed to naturopathic medicine, but also because of the blockade, which prevents exchange of innovative technology from Cuba.

Cuba is one of the few countries where the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are not instituting "restructuring" programs. These programs are responsible for unemployment, the closing of schools and hospitals, and elimination of essential public services all over Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe. No school or hospital in Cuba has ever been closed.

International Comparisons
Following are statistics and other matters discussed at a discussion circle in Cuba on health, which was part of the 14th International Festival for Youth and Students. Representatives from various countries discussed conditions in their home countries.

• Chile had made numerous major social advances under President Salvador Allende, a medical doctor who led a social-democratic government. After his CIA led overthrow, the Chilean medical system has been privatized and has dramatically deteriorated. One example that was brought up is that people have to get up at 4am to get in line for medical services when they are ill.
• In Guatemala, CIA supported war has resulted in over 100,000 deaths since US intervention. This has led to major problems in mental health, widespread infectious disease, parasites, AIDS, diarrhea, and other diseases. Guatemala shares one statistic with Cuba, in that about 100,000 people died under the various bloody regimes supported by the US in both countries.
• In Nicaragua, because of US pressures, 60 percent of people are unemployed, 80 percent live in poverty, 70% live in extreme poverty, and infant mortality is rising dramatically. It is the second poorest country in Latin America, and many children are under-nourished. Compare this situation with Cuba, where the people have a constitutional right to a job.
• In Mexico, there is only 1 doctor per 15,000 inhabitants.
• Burkina Faso has 6 students enrolled in Cuban medical schools for a free medical education, so they can help improve health care in their country.
• The Congo was under the US puppet Mobutu until this summer. The life expectancy in the Congo is 51 years of age, the infant mortality is 93 per 1,000 live births, and there is 74 percent illiteracy. This in the African country with the greatest wealth in natural resources. The people are burdened by a large foreign debt, although most of the foreign debt is in the personal fortunes of Mobutu and his friends, who have fled the Congo. There is legal precedence for "forgiving" this debt, which is considered "odious debt."
• In India, since "reforms" demanded by the IMF and World Bank, health expenditure is only six percent of GNP, an extremely low figure. Malnutrition is rampant, cholera rate has doubled, and malaria and typhoid have increased 30 percent. In contrast, cholera has been eliminated in Cuba.
• In Palestine, in the Gaza strip, there are almost no nurses or psychiatrists.
• In Canada, as the conservative legislators push to privatize the national and universal health system, hospitals are closing, nurses are being fired, and doctors salaries are rising.
• US statistics show that in California, in wealthy white neighborhoods, infant mortality is 3%, and in black neighborhoods, it is 11%.
• In N Korea, there has been free medical care for all since 1947. Cholera, malaria, and relapsing fever have been eliminated. Because of the pressure from wounded soldiers, and because of the large number of handicapped children, they have made great advances in treatment of people with disabilities.
• S Korea was the only other country besides the US which did not grant permission for youth to attend the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students in Havana this summer.

John Ruhland is in his last year studying naturopathic medicine at Bastyr University in Seattle. He recently returned from a trip to Cuba in connection with the San Francisco-based group Global Exchanges.

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Contents this page were published in the November/December, 1997 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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