Cuba Has a Higher Life Expectancy Than the US

Ever since the Cuban revolution and its adoption of communism, many rights have been stripped away from citizens, but one thing is clear: the country has created one of the most remarkable health systems in the world.

Recognizing health as a human right was fundamental in developing practices that have fostered a population much healthier than the average Latin American and now lives longer than a US citizen. What's more, yearly health expenditure per capita in Cuba is 1/10th that of the US (but almost twice that of LatAm).

With extremely limited resources, the country has gotten inventive:

It trains the highest number of doctors available to its population globally through what Ban Ki-Moon has called "the world's most advanced medical school."

Family doctors take care of everyone in their assigned neighborhood and knock on citizens' doors at least once a year for a check-up.

A comprehensive (and mandatory) vaccination program

Cuba having a comparable life expectancy to the US is not new. It went slightly above the US in 1980 and has stayed at similar ages for both countries. The gap widened when in 2020, US life expectancy dropped by 1.5 years — the largest drop in 100+ years.

COVID has so far claimed more than 1M lives in the US due in large part to high numbers of comorbidities and a refusal by many to vaccinate. On the other hand, Cuba had a total of 8.5K reported deaths and has been commended for its response to the pandemic. Not a single COVID death has been reported in almost six months.

This week’s opportunity:

Mercado Libre has 447 open roles all over LatAm 🌎!

Hiring Managers: Reply to this email if you’d like to feature an open role in our newsletter.