SLP, Mexico.- Official figures published this Thursday, January 2, reveal that Cuba closed 2024 with a maternal mortality rate higher than that of 2023 and with less births.
The Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported that maternal deaths, which were 38.7 per 100,000 in 2023, increased to 40.6, 4.9% more.
Although health authorities celebrate that the rate of mortality infant mortality remained at 7.1 per 100,000 live births, they do not explain that this number is extremely high for the figures collected in 2018, when in Cuba there was a rate of 3.9.
Furthermore, in 2024 71,374 were born you drink21% less than in 2023, when 90,449 were born.
“According to preliminary data provided by the Directorate of Medical Records and Health Statistics, in the year just concluded in the national territory, 71,374 born alive, which means 19,075 fewer births than in 2023, a reality that imposes additional challenges on the nation in terms of its demographic dynamics,” said MINSAP.
With a triumphalist approach, the note from the government institution argued that with “the efforts made” the number of deaths in children under one year of age decreased by 133; also in children under five years of age, with 101 fewer deaths.
In his opinion, the “achievements” occurred in the midst of “so many complexities”, among which they cite “the effects of the intensification of the economic, commercial and financial blockade”, which justify the deficit of resources for the functioning of the institutions. and the exacerbation of social problems.
Birth numbers in 2024 are at their lowest level in six decades. This decline is largely due to the emigration of women of childbearing age and the lack of economic and social incentives to have children.
Emigration also plays a crucial role in this trend. Cuba has seen a considerable outflow of professionals and young people seeking better opportunities abroad. This mass exodus, driven by unfavorable economic and political conditions, places Cuba’s net emigration rate among the highest in the world.
Only in the first half of the year that has just ended, the number of births in Cuba decreased by almost 20% compared to the same period in 2023.
According to a report presented by Dr. Catherine Chibás Pérez, national head of the Maternal and Child Program (PAMI) of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), in the first half of 2024, 34,648 live births were registered, which represented a decrease of 19% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Chibás Pérez explained that this drop in births, which translated into 8,157 fewer births than in 2023, was due to several causes, including complications in pregnancy and problems with care for critical pregnant women.
