 Cuban doctors have reportedly provided a dramatic improvement to the field of medical care in Kiribati, reducing the child mortality rate in the country by 80%.As of September 2008, twenty I-Kiribati were studying medicine in Cuba, their expenses paid for by Cuba, with more expected to join them as Cuba increased the number of scholarships provided to Pacific Islander medical students.In December 2010, it was reported that thirty-three I-Kiribati had studied or were studying in Cuba, of which thirty-one were studying medicine.