2.2 Healthcare

To destabilize the Cuban healthcare system has been a systematic purpose of the US hostility and blockade policy for over four decades.

A fundamental priority within the political set of actions taken against the healthcare sector seeks to destabilize the scientific and human resources basis of the medical sector, by an ongoing encouragement to defection. Thus, since the early 60’s, no US Administration has given up its attempt to urge the brain drain from this sector. As a result of these campaigns, 50% of the physicians from those early years left the country.

Likewise, as part of that policy, all possibilities of technologic and scientific transfer were eliminated, as well as the possibilities for medical staff upgrading by hindering access to medical literature, exchanges of experiences, the attendance to medical events and congresses.

Though universally acknowledged, it should be remembered that medical and hospital care in Cuba is given for free and benefits all the population without any distinction. No efforts or resources are spared to preserve each citizen’s health and life. However, as a consequence of the US blockade, we can not always count on a suitable medicine or equipment to save the life of a patient.

American pharmaceutical enterprises and medical equipment manufacturers and their subsidiaries in third countries produce over 50 percent of the new pharmaceutical drugs and over 80 percent of biotech products, with patents with a 17-year validity. On the other hand, and with especial impetus since last decade, US enterprises have been extensively involved in the accelerated process of strategic acquisitions, mergers, and alliances among enterprises of this sector. Thus, enterprises that used to supply Cuba with medical equipment and products stopped those supplies as a consequence of the promulgation of the Torricelli Act4.

All specialties of the healthcare system have suffered serious problems regarding availability of medicines, expendable material, instruments, equipment and parts, while in some specialties some equipment have become obsolete, thus worsening the situation. (See attachment 1).

In some specialties, the consequences of this deficit have been disastrous, not only to the ailment of patients and their relatives, but also to the medical and nursing staff that, on certain occasions has felt powerless when trying to save a life or heal a disease, for not having timely at their disposal the required US medicine or equipment.

Eight-month-boy Johnatan Guerra Blanco’s parents are two of the many people who can give evidence of their suffering. If they had had the opportunity of acquiring a device known as "Stent", which was denied by Johnson & Johnson enterprise, this Cuban baby’s suffering would have been less.

Among the most negative impacts of this policy are those related to diagnoses tests such as: x-rays, clinical and microbiological lab analysis, biopsy and endoscopies.

There are many cases that speak for themselves. Among them, that of Murex International Technologies enterprise that, to avoid retaliatory actions from the US government, prohibited the supply of diagnosis equipment to Cuba from the United Kingdom-- up to that moment this equipment had been provided by one of its companies in that country. This brought about a sudden interruption of an important source of supplies, the search for a new supplier, a period of waiting of at least three months before being able to use these products and an increase in costs.

Cuban enterprises devoted to the trade of medical and healthcare equipment, technology and materials, cannot purchase lab equipment from well-known companies as Baxter, Healthcare, Drake Willock, Vitalmex Interamericana, S.A., as well as other US companies that refuse to sell equipment, expendable material and accessories to Cuban hospitals for dialysis and tertiary care. Likewise, modern methods used for continuous cycle peritoneal dialysis cannot be purchased for Cuban hospitals.

Regarding other specialties, it should be added that there have been remarkable restrictions in the purchase of high-level basic equipment and sets of instruments for the development of ophthalmology, ophthalmologic surgery and microsurgery programs.

Cardiology and cardiovascular surgery have also been meaningfully damaged by the regulations and laws related to Cuba. Specialists from country’s main children cardiovascular center have explained how the lives of patients with serious heart conditions have been in danger due to the inability to buy more modern and better anti-arrhythmic drugs.

In the last few years, Cuba has not had access to over 16 cytostatic drugs for cancer therapy, the majority of which are manufactured by US companies. Besides this, there are difficulties with the use of Radiotherapy due to deterioration and/or shortage of equipment, thus rendering the cancer therapy more expensive, complicated and mutilated -- with the minimum necessary quality.