By Lisandra Fariñas Acosta on January 2, 2018
Photo: Bill Hackwell
Maintaining infant mortality rate below five per 1,000 live births for the 10th consecutive year is reason enough for Cuba to celebrate
But even more extraordinary is that the country has achieved the lowest rate in its history in 2017, four per 1,000 live births
Preliminary data, made available to Granma by the Medical Records and Health Statistics Directorate, indicates that 114,980 births took place, 1,892 less than in 2016, and 465 babies under a year of age died, 32 less than in 2016, the lowest number on record.
To appreciate just what this figure means, it’s worth recalling that in 1970, 9,173 infants died, for a rate of 38.7 per 1,000 live births.
Source: Granma International