The death of little Adniel Jesús Jarrosay Almeida, just five years old, has sparked a wave of outrage in Santiago de Cuba.
While the official version claims that the child died after ingesting expired and "non-certified" acetaminophen, his mother, Malena Jarrosay Almeida, asserts that this is a lie with which the authorities aim to cover up medical negligence and the precariousness of the healthcare system.
The Provincial Health Directorate of Santiago de Cuba reported on September 3 that the death, which occurred at the Carlos J. Finlay polyclinic, was due to "exogenous intoxication" caused by an expired medication.
However, Malena refuted that version and showed the original box of the paracetamol, of Mexican origin, with an expiration date of 2027.
" I wasn't defeated, I was renewed," he declared to the portal CubaNet.
The same medication was also taken by his 11-year-old nephew, who did not show any immediate adverse reactions and is currently hospitalized in intensive care due to subsequent complications.
The mother reported that, after experiencing vomiting and a high fever, she took the child to the clinic at eight in the morning, but the doctors made her wait for over half an hour despite the fact that the little one had a fever of 40.9 degrees.
"The doctor was looking at Facebook on her phone while my son was having a seizure in front of her," she reported.
The child suffered eight seizures in less than an hour, and his condition worsened after he was injected with dipyrone. According to a doctor consulted by the family, the case could correspond to an anaphylactic shock caused by that drug, which required an emergency protocol that was never implemented.
The situation became dramatic when the experienced pediatrician who came to assist recognized the need to intubate the child, but the clinic lacked the essential equipment to do so.
The ambulance that was supposed to take him arrived late, and Adniel died shortly before noon after going into respiratory arrest.
The contrast between the official statement and the mother's testimony reveals not only medical negligence but also the lack of resources in a healthcare system that doesn't even have the most basic necessities to save a child's life.
Meanwhile, the family is hit doubly hard: by the irreparable loss and by the blame campaign that the authorities have launched against the mother, a 26-year-old woman who also suffers from palate cancer and is raising two other children under conditions of extreme poverty.
The minor's aunt, Yanislay Caboverde Muñoz, reported on social media that the family has received pressure and police threats to remain silent.
"It's a lie, they are cleaning themselves with that when they know the child arrived with a fever of 40 degrees, they gave him a Duralgina IV, he had a heart attack," she wrote on Facebook.
The tragedy unfolds in a context where the Ministry of Public Health itself acknowledges that the country has access to only 30% of the essential medication list.
The scarcity forces many families to rely on medicines sent from abroad or purchased in the informal market.
Blaming a desperate mother is thus the easiest escape for a system incapable of providing even an aspirin in pharmacies and hospitals.
The institutional version sparked public outrage: the majority of Cubans are aware that the government's inability to guarantee medications in pharmacies pushes families to turn to the informal market.
"If there were medications in the pharmacies of this country, there would be no need to buy them on the street without knowing where they come from," lamented a Cuban online.
Another was harsher: "There would be many more dead if people couldn't access those medications that are traded on the black market. Because there is nothing."
The case not only reflects the dehumanization of a collapsed healthcare system but also the hypocrisy of a government that boasts about its supposed achievements in health while abandoning the most vulnerable to their fate and criminalizing families who, amid scarcity, do everything they can to save their children.
Frequently asked questions about the tragedy of the child who passed away in Santiago de Cuba
What is the official cause of death of the child Adniel Jesús Jarrosay Almeida?
The Provincial Health Directorate of Santiago de Cuba reported that the death of little Adniel was due to "exogenous intoxication" caused by an expired medication. However, the child's mother, Malena Jarrosay Almeida, denies this version and asserts that the medication was not expired.
What arguments does the child's mother present regarding the medical care received?
Malena Jarrosay Almeida reports that there was medical negligence, mentioning that the doctor was on her phone while the child was having a seizure and that the clinic lacked the necessary equipment to intubate him. She also notes that the delay in the ambulance's arrival contributed to the fatal outcome.
What impact has this tragedy had on the community and social media?
The death of Adniel has sparked a wave of outrage in Santiago de Cuba and on social media, where numerous citizens hold the Cuban healthcare system and the government accountable for the lack of medicines and resources. The shortage of medications forces families to turn to the informal market, exposing them to unverified products.
What measures has the Cuban government taken in response to the healthcare system crisis?
The Cuban government has acknowledged the crisis in the healthcare system, admitting that it only has 30% of the essential medication stock. However, the measures taken so far have not been sufficient to resolve the shortages or improve medical care conditions, which continues to lead to tragedies like that of Adniel.
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