Key facts
- Cuba's universal healthcare system is experiencing a sharp decline.
- Patients are unable to access essential diagnostic tools like CT scans due to broken equipment and lack of resources.
- Fuel shortages are causing significant disruptions in treatment schedules, particularly for children with cancer.
- Hospitals are facing widespread shortages of medical supplies, including syringes, gauze, vaccines, and anesthetics.
- U.S. sanctions have been cited as a major factor worsening the energy crisis and the overall economy.
- The survival rate for children with cancer has dropped from 85% to 65%.
Cuba's once-lauded universal healthcare system is in sharp decline, with patients like Irisleydis Tristá unable to access essential diagnostic scans and treatments due to broken equipment and severe resource shortages. The crisis is exacerbated by persistent energy shortages, attributed by analysts to tightened U.S. sanctions on the island's energy sector, which have worsened an already struggling economy.
Hospitals across Cuba are facing critical shortages of supplies such as syringes, gauze, vaccines, and anesthetics, alongside a lack of spare parts for vital equipment like hemodialysis and CT scan machines. Medical specialists and technicians are also leaving the country in large numbers.
The situation has particularly impacted children, with the survival rate for those with cancer falling from 85% to 65% since energy restrictions began in January. Some children must delay crucial treatments due to fuel shortages for transportation. The Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization are facing difficulties distributing humanitarian aid, prompting the UN to launch an emergency plan.
Analysts note that the crisis intensified after the U.S. threatened countries selling fuel to Cuba and increased pressure on foreign companies to cease business with Havana, resulting in widespread power outages, gasoline rationing, and declines in industrial and food production.