A woman cares for her daughter at the William Soler Pediatric Cardiocenter —a beneficiary of the humanitarian aid brought by the Nuestra America flotilla from Mexico— in Havana, on March 24.
Image: Yuri Cortez / AFP
The WHO chief said on Wednesday that the health situation in Cuba was "deeply concerning" as the US fuel blockade deepens the island's energy crisis.
"Health should be protected at all costs and never be at the mercy of geopolitics, energy blockades and power outages," World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
"The situation in Cuba is deeply concerning as the country struggles to maintain health service delivery at a time of immense turbulence, leading to energy shortages that have been affecting health."
Cuba's ageing electricity generation system is in shambles, with daily power outages of up to 20 hours the norm in parts of the island, which lacks the fuel needed to generate power.
But since the US ousting of Cuba's top ally, president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, on January 3, the island's economy has been hammered further as Trump maintains a de facto oil blockade.
No oil has been imported to the island since January 9, hitting the power sector while also forcing airlines to curtail flights to the island, a blow to the all-important tourism sector.
He said reports showed that Cuban hospitals have been struggling to maintain emergency and intensive care services.
"Thousands of surgeries have been postponed during the last month, and people needing care, from cancer patients to pregnant women preparing for delivery, have been put at risk due to lack of power to operate medical equipment and cold chain storage for vaccines," Tedros said.
"Cuba's hospitals, clinics and ambulances are needed now, more than ever, and must be supported to perform their life-saving work."
In addition to daily outages, fuel prices have soared, public transport has become rare and trash is piling up as garbage trucks are no longer running.
AFP