The prevention of health risks in Cuba

Cuba still has a double burden of health risks. It must contend with some risks to health that persist in underdeveloped rural areas, and it must also deal with the risk factors associated with modern, urban living conditions. The economic and social changes fostered in the postrevolutionary period have reduced the relative importance of the first set of factors, but the changes have also introduced or intensified a myriad of factors derived from their own successes. In this article, the risk factors of greatest concern in contemporary Cuba are described, and the strategies adopted to combat these risk factors, together with the ways in which such strategies are shaped by Cuba's social and economic development are discussed.