marginal and dependent status. BCT/jg A/S-18/PV.6 122 (Mr • M.almierca · Peol i; · Cuba) I should like to refer to the standpoint from which our country views this dilemma, in the light of the experience we have accumulated over more than 30 years. Since the 1960s Cuba has been devoting all its efforts to transforming the social and economic structures we inherited: underdeveloped, obsolete and totally dependent structures. Those efforts have had significant results, which, especially in the spheres of human resources, social well-being, productive infrastructure, problems relating to population, and scienti fie and technological progress, have completely changed the way the country looked in 1959. Today the people of Cuba enjoy one of the highest standards of health in the world -maintained, among other things, by the availability of almost 40,000 doctors, as compared to only 6,000 in 1958, and by the development of a health-care system that sets an example for those in the world seriously concerned about health. This has made possible, among many other achievements, an average life expectancy at birth of almost 75 years; infant mortality has been reduced to 11.1 in the first year of life for every thousand 1 ive births. To illustrate what these fiqures mean, we need only make a comparison: since 1959 the lives of more than 300,000 children have been saved in our country, while in the third world as a whole, according to recent estimates by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), more than 100 million children under five years of age will die in the next decade -lives that could be saved if these children could enioy levels of health similar to those achieved in Cuba. Our people have a high standard of culture and education, the product of a 
**Analysis**
The text primarily focuses on the social and economic development of Cuba, highlighting its achievements in healthcare, education, and human resources. The text also touches on the country's history and its transformation since the 1960s. Given the emphasis on healthcare, education, and economic development, it is likely that the text falls under the category of "Health" and "Economic development".

**Category**
Health, Economic development