Eduardo Martínez Díaz, director of the Cuban company, BioCubaFarma, confirmed in a parliamentary session this week that there was a significant depression of medicines in Cuban pharmacies, reporting a lack of 251 medicines manufactured on the island.
This represents 40% of those in the basic medicine list, something that, beyond the cold numbers, “ordinary Cubans” experience in their day to day, since they have to go to resales on the black market at prices very high, or to the exchange of medicines for other supplies or food.
Information details, that enalapril is missing because there is no raw material and warfarin because the equipment broke down and there are no spare parts at the moment. Fluticasone is about to be distributed, while isosorbide dinitrate and merformin are in the production process.
Shortage of medicines in Cuba
Medications for the treatment of oncology patients have also presented instability in the first half of the year. For heart failure carvedilol remains affected.
Regarding analgesics, they reported that there is no 500-mg dipyrone in tablets, nor 500-mg aspirin in tablets, while for the manufacture of 500-mg paracetamol tablets, the active ingredient should arrive in August, although it will only last for two months of coverage. Other important medicines that will continue to be lacking are: azithromycin, metronidazole, cotrimoxazole, amoxicillin (oral) and injectable vancomycin.
As is usual in the speech of the Cuban leaders, the North American embargo was blamed for the causes of the shortage of medicines and their production, although more than 90% of the cases refer to a shortage of the essential raw material, in addition to breakages. techniques.
However, BioCubaFarma has managed to keep up the pace of exporting its medicines to more than 70 countries, all this despite the fact that they are unable to respond to the demand of their compatriots on the island.
