They risk going blind because Cuba cannot acquire the IQ 577 Laser System, from the US-based IRIDEX CORPORATION, to treat retinal and glaucoma conditions.
The resolution entitled “Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial, and Financial Blockade Imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” states that children suffering from infantile spinal atrophy could aspire to have a better quality of life and a higher life expectancy if Cuba could have access to Nusinersen.
The drug is produced only by the US multinational company BIOGEN and has proved to be effective in keeping alive more than 50 percent of children suffering from this fatal disease.
According to the document, eight Cuban children with different kinds of cancer could not receive the most suitable chemotherapy treatment against their disease and had to resort to second-line protocols due to difficulties to access drugs such as Actinomycin D, Ifosfamide, and Procarbazine.
The healthcare sector continues to be one of the hardest hit by the US blockade, which has caused losses estimated at 113.4 million dollars in the first seven months of 2021 alone.
On Thursday, 185 nations voted at the United Nations General Assembly in favor, two countries opposed and two abstained from voting on the Cuban resolution that demands an end to Washington’s hostile policy, which has been in place for more than 60 years.
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