HAVANA, Cuba: Cuban cardiologist Alexey Lopez, 59, is sleeping a little better since his salary took a hit – part of the government’s efforts to stem mass exodus of doctors amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.
But Lopez fears that the wage increase will not be enough to lure back his colleagues, who are among about 40,000 Cuban health workers who quit in 2022 and 2023, according to official figures.
He told media we were “losing sleep” to make ends meet before incentive bonuses for night and weekend shifts, seniority and work in specialist or high-risk services were introduced last month.
The communist island has faced skyrocketing inflation and shortages since the pandemic and the tightening of US sanctions in 2021, combined with structural weaknesses, sending the economy into a tailspin.
The bleak circumstances prompted about five percent of the population to flee, mostly to the United States, in the largest wave of emigration since Fidel Castro’s revolution.
Cuba’s renowned health care system has also taken a hit, with some health workers leaving the country while others ditched their white coats for better-paying work elsewhere, such as the tourism industry.
In an effort to stem the exodus, some 400,000 doctors, nurses and technicians received incentive bonuses.
‘Not enough yet’
Cardiologist Lopez, who works at Havana’s Calixto Garcia Hospital, saw his salary more than double with bonuses from 6,500 to 17,000 Cuban pesos, meaning he now earns $141 a month at the official rate.
“I know people who have stopped and these measures are not enough to encourage them to come back,” he told the media.
Physiotherapist Amanda, who preferred not to give her last name, said that even though her salary had increased by a third, she would “have to look for other solutions to generate money” to survive.
Deputy Health Minister Luis Fernando Navarro told media the measure was aimed at “improving the living conditions of employees”, although he admitted that “this increase does not respond to the current cost of living in Cuba”.
Navarro said the shortage of doctors is most felt in specialized fields.
He said that while the country has GPs in all its health centres, “this is not a case of specialist care” in hospitals or “hyper-specialised care” for complex diseases.
“White Coat Diplomacy”
The country’s universal health care system boasts 89 doctors for every 10,000 residents, compared with 33 in France and 35 in the United States, according to the World Health Organization.
The export of qualified health professionals in the so-called “white coat diplomacy” has been a valuable source of foreign currency and in some years – such as 2018 – has been the country’s main income, bringing in about six billion dollars.
At home, Cuban doctors often have to buy their own stethoscopes and equipment.
With old heart monitors beeping in the background, Dr. Lopez said the economic crisis was being felt by “shortages of doctors, equipment and drugs.”
