Geneva, May 20, 2026. In the context of the 79th World Health Assembly taking place this week in Geneva, the Health Ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) agreed on a strong declaration of support and solidarity with Cuba.
The Ministers expressed their deep concern about the serious consequences for the national health system as a result of the unilateral economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed against Cuba for almost seven decades, which, since January 29, has mutated into a qualitatively different and quantitatively even more aggressive phase: energy strangulation through the fuel blockade.
The declaration emphasizes that the right to health cannot be undermined by the imposition of unilateral coercive measures, nor by the use of energy as an instrument of coercion.
The health ministers warned that the shortages and lack of availability of medicines, pharmaceutical reagents, vaccines, and medical equipment caused by the unilateral actions of the United States against Cuba are severely affecting the Cuban health system. Mortality rates are increasing, life expectancy is decreasing, and the prevalence of physical and mental disorders and disabilities, as well as physical and psychological suffering, is rising.
The ministers reaffirmed the Cuban people's right to health and urged the World Health Organization to document the serious health impacts of the unilateral measures against Cuba and to promote binding humanitarian exemptions that protect the Cuban health system.
“We also reaffirm our solidarity with the Cuban people and their health professionals who, despite the extreme conditions, continue to work tirelessly to maintain essential services and protect lives,” the NAM health ministers concluded.
The Non-Aligned Movement comprises 120 countries from all continents. The declaration adopted by the Ministers of Health of the Non-Aligned Movement has been registered as an official document of the 79th World Health Assembly, in which the 194 Member States of the World Health Organization, headquartered in this Swiss city, participate.
