Holguín: infant mortality rate among the lowest in Cuba
- Written by Redacción ¡ahora!
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The province of Holguín, with the largest maternity hospital in Cuba at the Vladimir Ilich Lenin Hospital, closed the year 2024 with an infant mortality rate of 5.31 per thousand live births, a figure that places this indicator among the lowest in the country.
During the period, more than 6,900 births and 37 deaths were reported here, while the municipalities of Cueto and Frank País reported zero mortality rate in 2024, Dr. Alberto Rubén Piriz Assa, head of the Maternal and Child Care Program in the territory, told ACN.
In turn, the towns of Gibara, Báguano, Urbano Noris, Moa, Mayarí, continue to have figures below the provincial average, he noted.
Piriz Assa, first and second degree specialist in Intensive and Emergency Medicine, highlighted the work of medical personnel in the face of the economic crisis, geographical complexity and shortages of supplies, which makes the effort to keep this indicator low.
He also praised the commitment of the specialists at the Vladimir Ilich Lenin University Teaching Hospital, where more than two thousand births occurred, a decisive task as it is one of the centers where the most births are attended in the entire country.
For her part, Dr. Yasmina Ríos, head of the provincial maternity hospital, highlighted the links between primary, secondary and hospital health care, and protocolization in the follow-up of critically ill postpartum women, vulnerable sectors and at-risk neonates, which had a positive impact on this result.
She highlighted the preparation of medical personnel and actions to prevent diseases such as gestational high blood pressure, which causes a large number of complications in the mother and child at the time of birth.
The World Health Organization recognizes the reduction of infant mortality as one of the fundamental milestones to increase reproductive efficiency, which is why in Cuba, despite exhibiting low indicators, a comprehensive strategy is adopted from the beginning of pregnancy, aimed at reduce the risk of fetal and maternal death.
These projects include intersectorality for transportation, the care provided to pregnants in the maternity homes, feeding of pregnant women, clinical and genetic monitoring, among other areas prioritized by the Ministry of Public Health.
