2023-11-07 15:31:26
Havana, November 7, 2023 (PAHO) – The III Congress of Family Medicine was held in Havana in the first days of November under the motto: “40 years of achievements, challenges and challenges of Family Medicine in Cuba.” More than 700 national delegates attended the event, as well as those from Latin American countries, the United States and Spain.
In his X account, the Minister of Public Health, Dr. José Angel Portal Miranda, cataloged the event as a vital space for exchange to strengthen community health care. “In this congress, we emphasize its importance to prevent diseases and achieve well-being,” he noted.
Several colleagues from the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), both from Headquarters and the Office in Cuba, participated in the conclave. Dr. Gerardo de Cosío, Interim Representative on the island, was invited to be part of the table that presided over the inauguration, and during that first day he also offered a conference related to patient empowerment; an important issue for the development of public health.
In his presentation, Dr. de Cosío defined patient empowerment as the process through which people gain greater control over the decisions and actions that affect their health. Other concepts around which he reflected were patient safety and health literacy.
The congress was also attended by Dr. Enrique Vega, Head of the Healthy Life Course Unit of PAHO/WHO, who spoke on the Decade of Healthy Aging and the Life Course Approach to health; two topics of marked relevance for the country taking into account the accelerated aging of its population. In that sense, he problematized longevity, the epidemiological transition of recent years, healthy life expectancy, care integrated into Primary Health Care (PHC), among other aspects.
For his part, Dr. Duniesky Cintra, PAHO/WHO consultant in Cuba, participated in the panel “Healthy aging. A holistic view”, where he shared the results of the project “Strengthening care for the elderly and development of telecare, for healthy aging”, which is being carried out in the provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque. In addition to explaining how the initiative has been carried out, he showed the digital platform that has been prepared to be able to provide assistance remotely more effectively.
A second panel in which Dr. Cintra participated had as its central axis the contribution of the United Nations System (SNU) to maternal and child health in Primary Health Care. The space made it possible to share the coordinated efforts carried out by the UNS agencies and programs with the purpose of supporting such a sensitive area for all people.
At the closing ceremony, it was announced that the event included six work sessions, 11 symposia and more than 30 conferences, including some virtual. As a culmination, the recognition of Honorary Member of the Cuban Society of Family Medicine was awarded to 13 personalities from the country related to the health sector; among them, José Ramón Machado Ventura, who was Minister of Public Health between 1960 and 1968; and José Angel Portal Miranda, currently leading this position.
Likewise, Dr. Tania Margarita Cruz, First Vice Minister, recognized in her speech the work of the personnel who work in primary health care in Cuba:
“We take advantage of this scenario to give the doctors and nurses of the families, and all the professionals, technicians and health workers who work at the first level of care in the country, the highest recognition, for fighting every day the battle for the health of our people.”
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