ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book adopts a new approach to the puzzle of Cuba's health outcomes by drawing on findings emerging from two bodies of recent theoretical literature; those dealing with "social capital" and "state capacity". It illustrates the political prioritization given to maternal-infant health in Cuba and highlights a number of institutional characteristics of the Cuban health system that have directly improved the country's capacity to achieve its health goals. The book details the nature of interaction between health workers and the Cuban population, particularly with regard to the Maternal-Infant Health Program (PAMI). It exposes an issue that is rarely mentioned in the academic literature on Cuba's health system: the existence of informal exchange practices that operates in the shadows of official health care delivery arrangements.
