Global Snapshots: Cuba - a triumph of public health

The James Bond film Die Another Day once again brought the eminence of Cuba's healthcare system into the spotlight. The prestigious fictional Cuban clinic featured in the film is depicted as executing groundbreaking gene therapy. Fiction, yes, but just how close is this to the truth? Cuba, many believe, has accomplished mission impossible. Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, its prime financier, and the stringent restrictions of a US embargo, Cuba has triumphed: While Cuba's primary health care lacks equipment that British general practitioners take for …