New York, 8 February 2021. An article published today at the webpage of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) states that Cuba´s success in Cuba in creating a viable, domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing industry shows what can be achieved with targeted investment and political will.
The report responds to the recent announcement by the Cuban government on the Soberana II vaccine against COVID-19 which is due to start phase III trials with 150,000 volunteers. If it clears this step, the country would be closer to producing Latin America’s first vaccine against the virus.
UNIDO notes that the small Caribbean island being ahead of many more developed countries in the race to find an effective vaccine may seem surprising. Yet decades of experience and investment in Cuba’s biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, which in its early stages was supported by UNIDO and other international organizations, have enabled the industry to direct resources quickly and efficiently towards emergency vaccine development.
The article affirms that in the years following the 1959 Revolution, Cuba made the establishment of a high-level, prevention-focused health care system a priority. The country’s approach to health was both a matter of socialist principles and a response to a US trade embargo, which from 1962 onwards blocked almost all imports from the United States, including medicines and other essentials.
The text of the specialized agency of the United Nations System, whose mandate is to promote inclusive and sustainable development, highlights that Cuba’s drive to build a state-backed, integrated biopharmaceutical industry grew in part out of past emergencies. At the same time, a question is raised: Could it be that there are some valuable lessons to be learned from the country’s experience for many developing nations scrambling to gain access to vaccines during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis?
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations