The impact of the U.S. blockade on Cuba’s healthcare system is severely felt in the delivery of everyday medical care. Financial and energy restrictions prevent shipping companies from transporting essential raw materials under normal conditions, hindering local pharmaceutical industries from manufacturing medicines. Compounding the problem, most international pharmaceutical companies that previously traded with Cuba have ceased commercial relations with the country due to pressure from the U.S. government.
In response to this situation, international solidarity has emerged as a vital source of assistance. Recently, Puerto Rican independence and solidarity movements delivered a new shipment of medicines for cancer patients through the Hatuey Project. The donation, received at the island’s main oncology hospital, will help address 65% of the country’s cancer burden, at a time when the disease is the leading cause of death, with approximately 55,000 new cases reported annually.
Puerto Rican activists stressed that their participation in these donation drives stems purely from a sense of humanity, as their goal is to prevent patients and children from dying because they lack timely access to treatment.
This assistance reaffirms the strong bonds of solidarity across the region, based on the principle that healthcare should never be used as a political weapon.
(Source: BreakThrough News)