Key facts
- Cuba's elderly are facing severe hardship due to U.S. sanctions, impacting access to fuel, food, medicine, and healthcare.
- Pensions have drastically devalued, with the peso losing about a third of its value against the dollar since January.
- The country's healthcare system is crumbling, with a significant drop in doctors and a shortage of essential medicines.
- Cuba is the fastest-aging nation in Latin America, with a large proportion of its population over 60.
- The U.S. State Department attributes Cuba's problems to internal mismanagement rather than sanctions.
Cuba's elderly population is facing increasingly dire conditions due to decades of U.S. sanctions, exacerbated by recent measures that have cut off fuel supplies and led to shortages of food, medicine, and transportation. Sagrado Armando Garcia, an 85-year-old former government bureaucrat, experienced a collapse and could not get to a hospital due to a lack of fuel for his family car, highlighting the severe impact on daily life.
For decades, Cuba's communist government promised basic services, including subsidized food, healthcare, education, public transportation, and pensions. However, seniors, long accustomed to failing public services and shortages, now face harsher realities. Pensions have shrunk to the equivalent of $7 a month on the black market as the peso has lost about a third of its value against the dollar since January. The Cuban government has appealed to the United Nations World Food Programme for aid to continue providing meals to the vulnerable and elderly.
Cuba is the fastest-aging nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, with over a quarter of its population over 60. This demographic trend, combined with a mass exodus of young people, has led to a population decline. The World Food Programme representative in Havana noted that the combination of high prices, shrinking pensions, and rations has put many seniors in a perilous situation, unable to afford adequate food or medical care. Inflation has skyrocketed, and the lack of public transportation makes getting around costly.
The country's public healthcare system, once a point of pride, has deteriorated significantly under sanctions. Government figures indicate a 30% drop in doctors between 2019 and 2024, with 70% of essential medicines scarce or unavailable. The waiting list for surgeries is projected to reach 160,000 patients by year-end, a 60% increase. Doctors report shortages of crucial medications, including those for blood pressure.
On an island where the average monthly income is around $15, remittances from relatives abroad make a significant difference. However, elderly Cubans who do not receive such funds face extreme hardship. Clergy members report that the elderly are the most affected by the crisis, with pensions insufficient for basic living. Regina Zaida Jorge, a 74-year-old retired doctor, lives without running water and relies on government rations and church handouts, feeling her decades of service were in vain as the system cannot provide basic necessities.
Last year, Western Union halted services to Cuba due to U.S. sanctions. While some, like 73-year-old Sonia Belmonte Puebla who receives money from her daughter in Florida, are able to manage their old age more comfortably, many others are not. The U.S. State Department, however, attributes Cuba's economic woes to internal corruption and mismanagement, citing a lack of investment in power plants and the cessation of free oil from Venezuela, rather than the impact of sanctions.