Title: Cuban Pharmacies Facing Severe Medicine Shortage, Ordinary Cubans Bear the Brunt
Date: [Insert Date]
Byline: [Your Name], Journalist
The Cuban healthcare sector has been grappling with a significant shortage of medicines, with 251 locally manufactured drugs currently unavailable in pharmacies across the island, as announced by Eduardo Martínez Díaz, director of BioCubaFarma, during a recent parliamentary session. The absence of these medicines, which constitute 40% of the basic medicine list, has forced ordinary Cubans to resort to the black market or bartering for essential supplies to meet their healthcare needs.
Among the medicines that are in short supply in Cuban pharmacies are enalapril, due to a lack of raw materials, and warfarin, as a result of equipment breakdown with no available spare parts at present. Fluticasone is expected to be distributed soon, while isosorbide dinitrate and merformin are still in the production process.
The shortage of medications has also hit oncology patients, with instability observed in the supply during the first half of the year. Medication for heart failure, such as carvedilol, continues to be affected as well.
Analgesics are also facing scarcity, with the absence of 500-mg dipyrone and 500-mg aspirin in tablet form. The active ingredient for manufacturing 500-mg paracetamol tablets is expected to arrive in August, but it will only provide two months’ worth of coverage. Furthermore, important drugs like azithromycin, metronidazole, cotrimoxazole, amoxicillin (oral), and injectable vancomycin will also continue to be unavailable.
Justifying the shortages, Cuban leaders, as usual, placed the blame on the North American embargo, although the scarcity predominantly stems from a lack of essential raw materials and equipment breakdowns. Over 90% of the cases of medicine scarcity can be attributed to these factors.
Ironically, while BioCubaFarma manages to export its medicines to over 70 countries, it struggles to meet the demand of its own citizens on the island.
The scarcity of essential medicines is taking a toll on ordinary Cubans, who often find themselves at the mercy of exorbitant black market prices or relying on the exchange of medicines for other necessities like food or supplies. This crisis highlights the hardships faced by the Cuban population in accessing basic healthcare, and the urgent need for effective solutions to mitigate the medicine shortage.
As the Cuban government grapples with these challenges, the hope remains that necessary steps will be taken to address the root causes of the scarcity and ensure access to essential medications for all citizens of the island.