José Ángel Portal Miranda, Cuban Minister of Public Health, urged to continue implementing specific strategies to achieve sustainability in the indicators that the province exhibits today, during a working visit that focused interest on the Maternal and Child Care Program (PAMI), the epidemiological situation, and the recovery of the territory after the heavy rains.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- The headline referred to important problems, identified by the sector, such as adolescent pregnancy, with the most worrying rate in the country: 88 per thousand pregnant women. In this regard, he called for working in the communities, defining the causes, risks, and results from a multidisciplinary approach.
"The province has to accompany the municipalities with more differentiated actions because one locality is not similar to another. We must take more advantage of the advice of the provincial Administration and, finally, execute the measures based on the deficiencies that have been identified."
Portal Miranda warned that it is necessary to continue persevering in the best use of Maternity homes to guarantee adequate surveillance of risk factors. He insisted on personalized attention to maintain the rate of 5.6 deaths per thousand live births and give better treatment to the prematurity rates. He insisted that today, these facilities are only at 70 percent coverage.
The Doctor recognized the good practices of the sector in the province, with indicators that are among the best at the national level, but called for a greater linkage of the entities to put an end to the considerable number of malnourished pregnant women, with anemia, and precarious housing conditions.
Viviana Gutiérrez, director of Health in the province, exposed that the territory is preparing for an increase in the birth rate -starting in July-, in institutions such as Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna General Teaching Hospital, which assumes more than 80 percent of births here.
During the debate, the deficit of doctors in vital services such as Obstetrics, Anesthesiology, and Pediatrics was also analyzed, as well as the need to reorganize human resources and put them in the function of guaranteeing patient care was emphasized.
The Minister stated on this matter that vocational and professional training must be strengthened to motivate the Medical Sciences students, and thus, ensure the replacement of the most complex specialties.
Yumara Acosta García, director of the Provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Microbiology, referred, regarding the epidemiological situation, that various types of respiratory viruses circulate in the territory, to which particular attention is given; and a call has been made for the vaccination to 60.9 percent of older adults.
She pointed out that although the province currently does not have active transmission, proper measures are taken to prevent a future dengue epidemic, taking into account that optimal weather conditions exist for the proliferation of vectors such as Aedes aegypti.
Portal Miranda emphasized the importance of preventive and educational work in the communities accordingly to their characteristics. "Covid-19 showed us the potential that we have as a sector and the lessons that it left us must be applied every day," he commented.
In allusion to the heavy rains in Las Tunas, damages were reported in 47 health institutions: five hospitals with leaks, two maternity homes, two nursing homes, two grandparents' homes, three polyclinics, 32 doctor and nurse family offices, and a pharmacy. Currently, four institutions remain damaged, but all are providing services.
As part of the working visit, the Minister toured the facilities of the Mártires de Las Tunas Pediatric Hospital and was interested in the investment process that takes place there, especially in the Maternity service that is organized, an old demand that must contribute to better conditions for the care women and their babies.
