Faces, Voices and Places in Municipality of Cotorro. Cuba

Abstract

For Cuba, the MDGs are a priority despite having met in advance some of the goals primarily in education and health; these are a result of the social model and social policies implemented since 1959 until today. The initiative Faces, Voices and Places began as a proposal of the local authorities of the central level of health and the PAHO/WHO Representative Office. With the attendance of the Municipal Health Department a participatory diagnosis by each MDG was carried out, defining clear interventions such as specified by the initiative. Thus the problems to work with Faces, Voices and Places were identified. Cotorro is a municipality located on the outskirts of Havana Province, covering an area of 65.7 km2. It is bounded by four municipalities: on the north by the National Highway and Guanabacoa Township, on the south by the Havana-Melena Highway and the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, on the west by the San Miguel del Padrón municipality, and on the east by the Municipality of San Jose de las Lajas. Cotorro has a population of 74,815. Among its natural resources, waters rich with chlorohydro-bicarbonate and sodium sulfate, which have high medicinal and healing capabilities, are located in the township of Santa Maria del Rosario. There are three main population centers (Cotorro, Santa Maria del Rosario and Cuatro Caminos), several communities, and small settlements. Health promoters and sanitary brigade are handled directly by the Municipal Department of Health Promotion, subordinate to the Municipal Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology and work in coordination with the doctors and nurses of the Family of Clinics. The municipality has three polyclinics, the dental clinic and 57 physician and nurse medical clinics for the family.