"The country's medical system was already perpetually crisis-stricken along with the island's economy, with lack of supplies, staff and medicine long being the norm. But the turmoil has reached a new extreme in recent weeks. Ambulances are struggling to find fuel to respond to emergencies. Persistent outages have plagued deteriorated hospitals. Flights bringing vital supplies have been suspended as Cuba's government says it's now unable to refuel airplanes in its airports."
"Cuba's Health Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda said that U.S. sanctions are no longer just crippling the island's economy, they're threatening "basic human safety." "You cannot damage a state's economy without affecting its inhabitants," Portal said. "This situation could put lives at risk." According to Portal, 5 million people in Cuba living with chronic illnesses will see their medications or treatments affected."
The medical system faces chronic shortages of supplies, staff and medicine and has reached a new extreme with recent turmoil. Ambulances lack fuel and hospitals suffer persistent outages while flights carrying vital supplies have been suspended because airports cannot refuel planes. Five million people with chronic illnesses risk disrupted medications or treatments, including 16,000 cancer patients needing radiotherapy and 12,400 undergoing chemotherapy. Cardiovascular care, orthopedics, oncology, dialysis and emergency ambulance services are among the most affected. An escalating energy crisis and new U.S. measures limiting oil access have intensified the shortages.
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