The Swiss-based firm Novartis has stated that, due to the U.S. blockade, it cannot offer Cuba the drug Cabergoline, which could prevent surgical treatments associated with tumors in the pituitary gland, the organ that regulates the endocrine system.

It has not been possible to access the spare parts needed to repair the defective air conditioning equipment in the intensive care unit and the surgical rooms of the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, because the French-based manufacturing company was acquired by an American transnational. Therefore, it is not authorized to sell to Cuba.

The Cuban Neurosciences Center (CNEURO) was unable to complete the execution of two contracts already signed with a Spanish company for laboratory equipment and reagents, as well as accessories for Infantix, a Cuban system for the detection of hearing and vision disorders in one-month-old children. Since the products were of American origin, European distributors refused to sell them.

Spare parts for Bosch brand equipment, dedicated to the encapsulation of medicines and filling of vials, have not been able to be purchased. Since 2020, the Bosch Packaging Technology firm was sold to the CVC Capital Partners group, with interests in the United States, which developed a new brand called Syntegon Technology, with which negotiations have been attempted but have not been fruitful. This situation has caused continuous interruptions in the national drug production plan.

A European manufacturer, whose company was acquired by the American multinational Trane Technologies, cancelled a contract for the sale of 4 cooling machines for the company “Laboratorios AICA” and an additional one for the basic business unit (UEB) Novatec, belonging to the company “Laboratorios MedSol”. Without them, it is not possible to manufacture the medicines, as they guarantee the optimal climate of the production plants.

It has not been possible to purchase the gasometers from the company Radiometer for the care of seriously ill patients in therapy and cases of cardiac surgery, because this company is part of the Danaher corporation, based in the USA and, therefore, is prohibited from selling these supplies to Cuba.

The blockade has prevented access to the devices of the American company Datex-Ohmeda for the supply of nitric oxide to patients, which is a vasodilator gas used in the post-operative cardiovascular process, neonatology and lung transplant.

The Basic List of Medicines in Cuba has 651 items; of these, 51% are in short supply. The national protocol is organized to guarantee a 120-day stock of all medicines to cover national demand, but during the period of analysis, stocks have been reduced to 30 days.

The shortage of medicines available in the national health system has led to an increase in the informal market, whose high prices make them difficult to afford for the majority of the population.

In the last four years, surgical activity has decreased considerably nationwide. Even with the recovery of healthcare activity during 2022 and 2023, the number of surgeries only reaches 65% of the previous years, in which 1 million surgeries were carried out. This has resulted in an accumulated demand for services, with a waiting list of 86,141 patients at the end of February 2024. Of the pending cases, more than 9,000 are in pediatric ages, with the consequent family anguish and pressure on the health sector.

The difficulties derived from the blockade for the acquisition of medicines that are used in oncological diseases, even in childhood, have forced the application of alternative treatment schemes due to the inability to access first-line drugs. An example of this is Lomustine, which is used for the treatment of tumors of the Central Nervous System.

44,408 patients are awaiting ophthalmological surgeries, mostly cataract surgeries, which entails serious consequences on the quality of life.

The specialties of general surgery, urology and orthopedics have more than 5 thousand patients waiting for surgery. This has caused a deterioration in the indicators of care quality, including the number of hip fractures that can be operated on in the first 24 hours and surgeries performed using minimally invasive techniques.

In the specialty of neonatology and newborn care, there are more than 20 medical equipment with technological obsolescence, including incubators, thermal cribs, neonatal ventilators, among others. Despite the priority that the Cuban government gives to this sector, Cuba has not been able to escape the multidimensional effects of the blockade on the country's purchasing power, including access to more advanced technologies.

In cardiovascular surgery, 200 patients have not been operated on in the period covered by the report, due to the shortage of disposable materials, oxygenators, drainage of various types, breast clips for myocardial revascularization and other basic medicines, such as catheters, diuretics, anticoagulants and hypotensive drugs.

The country faces a shortage of contraceptives, condoms and medicines for pregnant women, in particular, multivitamins, folic acid, as well as diagnostic medical supplies, pregnancy tests and tests for sexually transmitted infections.

In other developments, the US has imposed a tenacious persecution of Cuban international medical collaboration, based on the mean-spirited fallacy that Cuba promotes human trafficking. They try to discredit this laudable work and prevent the flow of legitimate income in cases of cooperation in the form of “compensated technical assistance,” under schemes supported by the United Nations (UN).

On June 24, 2024, Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented the State Department's Trafficking in Persons report, in which Cuba was maintained at Level 3 for the sixth consecutive year.

The rating refers to countries that "do not fully comply with minimum standards and do not make significant efforts to reduce human trafficking." In the sections of the countries with which Cuba maintains medical cooperation agreements, the U.S. State Department resorted to the dishonest practice of referring to the existence of an alleged human trafficking scheme in these programs, as part of an intimidating strategy.

From March 2023 to February 2024, pressures on banks and countries where medical cooperation is provided have become more evident, which have refused to remit income to Cuba. A medical mission was closed in the period of analysis, by decision of the beneficiary country, in the face of the persecution and intimidating effect generated by the US blockade.

Overall, the damage to the health sector in the period between March 2023 and February 2024 amounted to no less than 268 million 515 thousand 210 U.S. dollars, a figure that exceeds by 28.7 million the amount reported in the previous period. These discrete figures do not reflect the anguish and human damage of many Cubans who have been marked for life by the effects of this genocidal policy.

Taken from the Report “Need to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” (2024).

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff