A waiting list of 13,000 patients in need of cataract surgery, and who could lose their sight, are today prevented from accessing this procedure due to the sanctions imposed on Cuba by the U.S. government.
Eneida Pérez, head of the Cataract Service and director of the Ocular Microsurgery Center of the Ramón Pando Ferrer Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology (ICO), located in this capital city, explained that the post-pandemic crisis affecting the world has also dented the work of that unit of the National Health System.
At the same time, the situation is aggravated by the inhuman sanctions of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by Washington against Havana for more than 60 years.
When the center was inaugurated 35 years ago, it treated cataract conditions and those caused by refractive effects such as hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism and glaucoma.
At present, the center's main focus is on cataract surgery, said the specialist.
Despite the adversities, up to the first four months of this year, one million 158,210 consultations were made; 321,84 surgeries were performed, of which 235,843 were cataract surgeries, which represents more than 90 percent of the total, said Pérez, quoted by Granma newspaper.
Dr. Ibraín Piloto, head of the National Ophthalmology Group and director of the ICO, said he was proud to train new generations of ophthalmologists at his institution.
He pointed out that hundreds of specialists, both Cuban and foreign, mostly from the Latin American and Caribbean region and some African countries, have been trained at the hospital.