Santiago de Cuba Boasts 230 Centenarians
Campaign News | Saturday, 29 December 2007
Santiago de Cuba, a city with more than one million inhabitants, now has 230 persons at least 100-years-old, product of the growing life expectancy on the island.
Nationally the 100 and over group is now around 2,500 and growing.
There are currently 44 teams of gerontology specialists and about 1,000 senior citizen clubs in the province of Santiago, which brings together senior citizens to systematically participate in physical exercises and other activities.
The state also offers special attention to close to 18,000 elderly who live alone to guarantee that they receive medical care, food, etc. For those needing special care there are homes for the elderly.
Santiago de Cuba has one of the island’s largest populations of the elderly, while it also had an increased birth rate in 2007, above the rest of the provinces.
A most welcome experience in Santiago is the faculty for the elderly education program, which contributes towards the participant’s spiritual development and social reintegration.
While Santiago residents, like their counterparts in other provinces, join the 120 year club initiative, its immediate and almost achieved goal is to increase average life expectancy to 80 years.
http://www.periodico26.cu/english/offbeat/cuba-centenarians122907.htm
