Is Cuba actually poor?

First episode of a short series of videos in which I will discuss issues commonly associated with Cuba, such as poverty, human rights, etc.

All my opinions are based solely on the few weeks I spent in Cuba and I claim no deep knowledge of the country. Take it all with a pinch of salt and let me know in the comments if you disagree :)
00:00 Introduction
02:05 What is poverty?
02:47 Income
06:54 Health and education
09:00 Clean water and sanitation
09:52 Physical security
10:37 Lack of voice
12:11 Capacity to better one's life

[rabbytca]

With due respect to your observations, your depth of knowledge is still quite limited. As Mr. Weeks stated the internal health system is antiquated, lacks adequate supplies to maintain cleanliness in many of its facilities, prioritizes certain classes of citizens unless the equivalent of bribes are advanced to people in positions that amount to gate keepers, life saving and quality of life medications have been recently not available at any price from the state pharmacies. The institutions of post secondary training which train these professionals do so to facilitate the sale of certain services to external jurisdictions. The conditions of employment at these external locations are often bordering upon a modern version of slavery.
A question to investigate in depth would be why a country with vast areas of fertile land (relative to its population) struggles to generate and distribute a sufficient quantity of healthy food stuffs to all its citizens.

[el_ambia]

Great video! An objective point of view from your own experience. Fact after fact you manage to demonstrate that it is not as bad as the media have been telling us. Can you imagine what this small country could do if there were no US embargo? What an interesting video will that be. See you.

[josephweeks]

As a longtime visitor to Cuba, I can tell you much about the island. The health care system is in shambles. Most doctors now and for sometime have expected a tip. They write prescriptions for medicines that are not in stock in the pharmacies. Some of the older hospitals look like something from a war zone, windows out, no A/C and more. The lineups and waits are horrendous. One of the maternity hospitals still in use was built in the 1930s. The medical school maybe adequate for the place but not up to date. Dignity, there is none. The Cubans do what they have to do to survive. Pilferage is rampant. From suitcases at the airports to factories. Light prostitution is everywhere and not just the lower classes. Doctors, lawyers, nurses, you name the profession, all can be had for $. The water, I wouldn't drink it. I await your next video.

[goodnight]

Cuba. An island that has been blockaded and had 60 years of illegal sanctions and still is doing great

[amedeonicoletti]

you don't know what you are talking about!!!this governament should be shame of this way they treat the people!!