Stimulating community involvement through mass organizations in Cuba: the women's role

Among the foundations of the Cuban health system is the principle of active participation by the community, an expression of the mass policy introduced as part of the revolutionary process in 1959. At present every action launched by the Ministry of Public Health is carried out with the cooperation of the mass organizations and, depending on its nature, the public health problem to be solved is the responsibility of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, the Federation of Cuban Women, the National Association of Small Farmers or the trade unions. The role played by Cuban women over the years is worth mentioning. The Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), which was created in 1960, groups at present about two million women, nearly 75% of the country's female population over 14 years old. FMC members carry out a number of activities in the field of public health, and help to raise the consciousness of women concerning health and hygiene. A total of 35,000 FMC health representatives have participated in all the actions programmed by the Ministry of Public Health, among them the mother and child care programme, antipolio vaccinations, blood donation campaigns, environmental sanitation and the fight against parasitic diseases. There are at present more than 47,000 FMC health brigades, composed of women who have followed health and sanitation courses. Under the public health system, each health area is comprised of 25-30,000 inhabitants, sub-divided into sectors of 3-5,000 inhabitants each. These sectors are divided into sub-sectors composed of 300 inhabitants, in each of which a FMC health brigade functions, its members being local inhabitants. Acting as the link between the mass organization, the Ministry of Public Health and the community, this brigade carries out a variety of preventive activities for the promotion of health. Monthly health meetings are held, during which educational materials provided by the Ministry are discussed, with subjects ranging from disease prevention in women and children, to pre-and post-natal care, and to sex education. It is this constant link between divulgation, information and education which has made possible the achievement of almost every goal in the field of public health.