Developing countries face severe poverty, unemployment, low agriculture productivity, unequal distribution of income and consumption, poor sanitation, and illiteracy. These problems are difficult to solve because of lack of resources, industrial backwardness, and the limited extent to which modern science and technology are introduced. Thus it is necessary to reexamine the objectives of development and the values on which they are established. It will not be possible to achieve fair levels of well-being if progress is attempted simply by copying patterns in rich countries rather than through a rational application of those countries’ scientific knowledge and productive technologies. In several countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, the development of technical and human resources and institutions has helped solve several problems. Cuba has made progress in biotechnology and in health, food, agriculture, cattle, fishery, and education, applying its own resources and the creativeness of scientists, technicians, and workers in these fields. These efforts have succeeded notwithstanding the difficulty of gaining access to Western technology and the country's severe financial limitations. A political decision for elaborating a global strategy and setting resources, and testing the technology and evaluating its technical, economic, social, political, and cultural feasibility were necessary.
Advancing environmental public health in Latin America and the Caribbean
