HAVANA, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Cuba has one of the world's highest ratios of physicians to population, with nine doctors per thousand inhabitants, according to Cuban local media.
The island country has more than 100,000 active doctors, the highest number in its history, Health Minister Jose Portal told Cuban News Agency on Monday.
"No other small undeveloped country has achieved such a feat regarding the training of human resources," Portal said.
Following the 1959 Revolution, many physicians fled the country, leaving barely 3,000 doctors in all of Cuba to meet the needs of the population, he recalled.
However, revolutionary leader Fidel Castro emphasized education and universal healthcare and soon turned things around by establishing prestigious medical universities..
Today, Cuba's national health system has more than 485,000 employees to attend to 11.2 million people. Thousands of doctors have also worked abroad under the Cuban policy of medical cooperation.
