Díaz-Canel acknowledges the decline of public health in Cuba
Díaz-Canel publicly acknowledges figures showing the decline of the health system, including tens of thousands of children with incomplete vaccination schedules.
Official claim
“Cuba is a world medical powerhouse, free of charge and exemplary.”
A recurring phrase in state media, diplomatic summits and official speeches.
The documented reality
461 of the 651 essential medicines are missing, more than 100,000 people are waiting for an operation, and infant mortality has risen from 4–5 to 9.3 per 1,000 live births, according to the government's own figures.
Verified records and reports (15)
Every entry links to its original source.
Díaz-Canel admits a 70% shortage of essential medicines
The regime officially admits a 70% shortage of essential medicines in state pharmacies and hospitals across Cuba.
Cuba cuts surgeries and medical services: the minister admits a deep crisis
Coverage of the drop in annual surgeries in Cuba, from roughly 1.2 million to 700,000, and the long waitlists acknowledged by the Health Ministry.
The minister calls for “universal access” at the BRICS while 16,000 health workers work outside Cuba
In a video to the BRICS health ministers, Portal Miranda defended universal access; that month more than 100,000 people awaited surgery and 16,000 Cuban health professionals worked in 50 countries.
On the Mesa Redonda, the government admits more than 100,000 people are waiting for an operation
Deputy Prime Minister Eduardo Martínez Díaz acknowledged on state TV that more than 100,000 people, 10,000 of them children, are waiting for surgery, and infant mortality has risen to 9.3 per 1,000.
Hospitals under strain in Cuba amid the fuel shortage
Health Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda tells the AP that the fuel shortage now threatens patients' basic safety; ambulances are stranded without fuel.
The health minister admits the system is “on the verge of collapse”
In an AP interview, Health Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda said 5 million chronic patients will see their treatment affected and some hospitals face blackouts of up to 20 hours a day.
Cuban medical mission in Venezuela: G2 intelligence control over doctors
A Cuban doctor describes in an exclusive interview how Cuban intelligence (G2) surveils and controls health professionals on medical missions in Venezuela.
Dengue and chikungunya outbreak in Havana
A report from Havana on the dengue and chikungunya outbreak, linked to accumulated garbage and the lack of fumigation.
"Who saves Cubans?" No ambulances, hospitals in ruins, no supplies
A report on Cuban hospitals in disrepair and ambulances out of service for lack of parts and fuel.
Cuban woman shows the state of a Matanzas hospital: "We had to bring our own syringes"
A Cuban woman documents the Faustino Pérez hospital in Matanzas and describes how her family had to bring their own syringes for a patient to be treated.
A rare look inside a Havana hospital during a massive blackout
Rare access inside Havana's Institute of Hematology, where a leukemia patient must stay admitted for weeks because of blackouts and the fuel shortage.
Hospital emergency rooms without syringes or basic painkillers
Citizen reports reveal emergency rooms lack syringes and painkillers, forcing patients to supply their own materials.
HRF report: human trafficking in Cuba’s medical missions
Human Rights Foundation documents coercive practices the Cuban state uses on doctors in its overseas medical missions to keep them from defecting.
Cuban mother denounces torture and denial of medical care for her imprisoned son
A mother denounces on camera the denial of medical care and mistreatment of her imprisoned son, who has mental-health conditions.