• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 01 / 07 / 2011

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HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 6 (acn) Cuba is taking actions to prevent and control non- communicable chronic diseases, which bring about more than 80 % of the nearly 87,000 annual deaths.

The head of the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases Department at the Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), Dr. Orlando Landrove, told ACN that most of the expenses in the national budget in this sector go to the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and bronchial asthma, among others.

These diseases are related to frequent factors of risk like smoking, sedentariness, obesity, alcohol consumption, and unhealthy diets with high levels of salt, sugar, fat, etc.

Landrove noted that these diseases are very common in Cuba and they are a regular cause of death and morbidity; therefore, they constitute the main causes of hospital admissions.

He added that prevention and control are very important because they contribute to the economy and keep people from suffering.

 Landrove also mentioned that restructuring the primary health care system guarantees the systematic follow-up through a method of active control of the population, which allows improving the assistance to patients with chronic diseases.

Recently, a representative of MINSAP, Roberto Morales Ojeda, made emphasis on the importance of the transformations in the sector, necessary for increasing the health condition and well-being of the population. 

He pointed out that the main goals are to do more political and ideological work, to boost medical ethics, to carry out more actions for prevention and health promotion, to make good use of diagnosis and therapeutic means, and to issue certificates and other health documents properly. 

Source: PL