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Cuba is often cited as having one of the most comprehensive health services in the world and whatever the social and economic problems that face the country Cuba’s population of 11 million people know that the state health system will take care of them from cradle to grave
There have been many progressive changes since President Raul Castro took over from his long serving father Fidel Castro in February and now it has been announced that ‘sex-change‘ or gender realignment surgery will be provided free of charge by the health system for those Cuban citizens that require it (statistics are hard to come by but ‘at least 28′ people are waiting for such surgery).
This addition to the range of services available for free under Cuba’s health system has been long advocated by Mariela Castro (pictured), daughter of the president and a specialist at the country’s National Center For Sex Education.
The first reported gender change surgery took place in Cuba in 1988 but publicity surrounding it generated enough opposition for the health ministry to discontinue its availability until now.
Raul Castro photo courtesy of Trinidad-News under this creative commons license
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