It states that the economic, commercial, and financial blockade maintained by the United States for more than sixty years has crippled Cuban pharmaceutical production.

It emphasizes that, as a result, “it is impossible to manufacture three out of every four drugs on the essential health list; this has resulted in deaths due to lack of medicine.”

The publication quotes Mayda Mauri, head of the BioCubaFarma business group, who explained to TeleSur that the restrictions imposed by the US prevent the acquisition of raw materials for nearly 300 of the 395 medicines in the island’s essential therapeutic arsenal.

Given this situation, the priority has been redefined: production is now concentrated on emergency supplies and treatments for critically ill patients, such as intravenous solutions and materials for hemodialysis, Mauri explained.

The article details that the biggest obstacle lies in generic medications, whose production depends almost entirely on foreign purchases. To maintain this sector, more than $250 million annually would be needed, an unattainable figure under the current financial siege, the publication emphasizes.

The difficulties are not new, but they have worsened since January 2016, when the US administration further tightened restrictions with a specific blockade on oil supplies.

Despite everything, the Cuban industry is holding firm and recently managed to resume production of 16 cytostatic drugs for the national cancer program.

Each drug that is produced, in the words of Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, is not just a medicine; it is an act of sovereignty, a ray of hope, and proof that, even under extreme pressure, the commitment to the right to health is non-negotiable, the article concludes.

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