The main advances in the implementation of the Policy of Integral Attention to Children, Adolescents and Youth guided the debate of the deputies members of the Commission of Attention to Youth, Childhood and Equality of Women's Rights of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP).
Presenting the changes made to the regulation, in the presence of Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, Deputy Prime Minister, Doctor in Sociological Sciences María Isabel Domínguez mentioned that, as a result of the deputies' proposals, its initial title was changed to Policy for the Comprehensive Care of Children, Adolescents and Youth in Cuba, understanding the plurality of these groups and emphasizing that welfare is not the focus of the work.
The document incorporates the principle of participation, focused on the development of capacities to strengthen active and effective participation in decision-making, in the execution and evaluation of the different actions and in the social, economic, political and cultural processes of the country; and that of intersectoriality.
Naima Ariatne Trujillo Barreto, Minister of Education, mentioned, among the essential projections, the strengthening of the school as the coordinating institution of the educational and formative influences of Cubans, while highlighting the necessary improvement of the teaching of History.
Walter Baluja García, Minister of Higher Education, said that communication is not a line of action of the policy, but a transversal process that cannot be limited only to digital social media, but finds in them the main space for socialization of information of young people.
Another aspect mentioned by the head of the Ministry of Higher Education (MES) was the linking of young people to formal employment spaces, and the increase in the number of students in the regular daytime course, who combine study-work.
Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, Minister of Labor and Social Security, added that, in order to increase the insertion and stability of young people in quality jobs, early job placement is being improved to coincide with
The early job placement program is being improved to coincide with the exercises for the completion of studies and to provide a solution to situations that the agencies have recognized in their problem banks.
It also opens the way to design more flexible alternatives in the fulfillment of the social service, the creation of an Employment Management Service, and the export of services through teleworking.
This last point, said Feitó Cabrera, allows our young people to practice their professions and trades in other countries, without the need to emigrate.
CUBA HAS EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STABILITY
The country has managed to advance towards epidemiological stability, after facing the strong crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; however, this does not mean that there are no other diseases and challenges to face, said Dr. José Angel Portal Miranda, head of Public Health, before the Health and Sports Commission of the ANPP.
In the presence of Jorge Luis Broche Lorenzo, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party and head of its Department of Attention to the Social Sector, Portal Miranda pointed out that there are serious problems in guaranteeing supplies, which affect both health workers and the people.
However, he said, we are not standing idly by, but taking measures to deal with these difficulties, being aware of the reality of the blockade and its impact on the acquisition of necessary resources and supplies.
He underscored the importance of preventing diseases in a scenario marked by adversities, as well as the responsibility of the territories and municipalities to strengthen the analysis of health problems and adopt a differentiated approach to address them.
Previously, Dr. Carilda Peña García, Deputy Minister of Health, referred to the behavior of the main communicable diseases that affect the health situation. In the case of Aedes Aegypti infestation and arbovirosis, she pointed out that currently, eight provinces, ten municipalities and 16 health areas have dengue transmission.
The most affected provinces with the highest number of suspected cases of dengue are Pinar del Río, Villa Clara, Las Tunas, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo, and, despite the presence of the four dengue serotypes, no province is in an epidemic zone, he said.
Regarding acute respiratory infections, Dr. Peña García referred to the COVID-19, and stated that a total of 1,115,171 cases have been accumulated, with 3,153 diagnosed in 2023, likewise, no deaths have been reported this year and the total accumulated lethality is 0.76%. Regarding acute diarrheal diseases, the country is in a safe zone, he said.
Regarding sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, the Deputy Minister of Health said that a total of 40,234 cases of HIV have been diagnosed since 1986, and 32,125 people are currently living with the disease. HIV prevalence is mainly concentrated in two provinces, Havana and Santiago de Cuba, and 96.2% of people living with HIV in Cuba receive antiretroviral treatment.
NATURAL AND TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
The use of natural and traditional medicine is a fundamental element within the basic list of medicines, which is why Guideline 98 of the 8th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba has ratified the political will to continue paying maximum attention to it, said Dr. Cristina Luna Morales, president of the Health and Sports Commission.
This guideline indicates "to prioritize the National Medicine Program, the efficiency and control of pharmaceutical services; to develop and consolidate Natural and Traditional Medicine, stimulating its preventive and therapeutic use".
In view of the importance of this issue, the Health and Sports Commission proposed to verify compliance with the approved policy in all provinces (except for the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud).
Among the main problems detected are the deficit of pharmaceutical raw materials, bottles, alcohol, distilled water and sugar for the production of natural products in local production centers and dispensaries; the low availability of natural products in the network of pharmacies, both local and industrial; poor structural conditions of pharmaceutical dispensaries and local production centers, which do not meet the conditions for compliance with good manufacturing practices.
There are non-compliances with the delivery of some plant species and difficulties with the distribution of natural products to municipalities and areas that are difficult to access; the prices of natural products are very low, which affects the company's performance, as well as other deficiencies associated with medical care and teaching.
Dr. Luna Morales concluded that this year the recovery of activity levels and main indicators has continued compared to the previous year, as well as the acceptance of these therapeutic options by the population, which is demanding these products and treatments.
SAVING ENERGY WILL ALWAYS BE A SOLUTION
Vicente de la O Levy, Minister of Energy and Mines presented to the deputies of the Industry, Construction and Energy Commission the results of the implementation of the energy saving measures to exercise greater control of electricity consumption and have an impact on savings.
He informed that, for the next quarter, a growth in power is foreseen, through the start-up of a plant in Havana Bay with similar characteristics to the floating plants, but on land, which will provide 150 megawatts (MW); a new gas well for the Energas combined cycle thermal plant, with between 30 and 40 MW, and an increase in renewable energy, with a 12 MW park for the provinces of Villa Clara, Ciego de Avila and Holguin.
He emphasized that, from the visits carried out, it can be concluded that the electric companies work together with the institutions to guarantee the control of energy, mainly in the state sector, and visits are made to the largest consumers in the territories.
