The Minister of Public Health of Cuba, José Ángel Portal Miranda, openly acknowledged the seriousness of the crisis facing the healthcare system in the country and admitted that the Government will not be able to resolve, in the short term, the shortage of resources, medicines, and medical supplies.
During an appearance on national television, the official explained a set of measures for "organization and rationalization" aimed at preventing the collapse of the sector amid the severe fuel crisis affecting Cuba.
Portal Miranda emphasized that the plan does not imply giving up the principles of the Cuban health system, but rather "preserving the essentials," concentrating resources where they are most needed, and ensuring the continuity of basic services.
However, he acknowledged that the shortage of medications and supplies is a "reality" that affects both the population and the functioning of the system itself.
In his speech, the minister once again attributed the crisis to the U.S. embargo, although he acknowledged that it is "not new" and that current shortages have reached critical levels.
"We are not going to solve the resource problems," he stated, while emphasizing that the regime's response will be to seek greater efficiency, organization, and control over what little they have.
Among the main measures announced by the Ministry of Public Health are:
- Reorganization of services in clinics and hospitals without sufficient electrical backup.
- Absolute priority to maternal and child health programs, oncology, and care for terminally ill patients.
- Reduction of healthcare personnel mobility and adjustment of staff levels, without "compromising" essential services.
- Reduction of surgical activity to urgent and emergency cases.
- Reduction of hospital stay whenever possible.
- Increase in municipal healthcare to avoid unnecessary transfers.
- Reinforcement of the family doctor and nurse program.
- Prioritized use of diagnostic tools for urgent cases and greater emphasis on the clinical method.
- Boosting Telemedicine.
- Recommend natural and traditional medicine.
- Priority for fuel for ambulances and support for vulnerable social institutions.
Portal Miranda promised that "no patient will go untreated," but his words confirmed that the Cuban healthcare system is entering a survival phase, characterized more by efforts to contain the imminent collapse than by real solutions to the structural crisis.
The statements come in a particularly tense context, due to the worsening of the energy crisis and increasing pressure from Washington. President Donald J. Trump labeled the Cuban regime as a threat to the United States and warned of sanctions related to the supply of oil to the Island, a decision that directly affects key sectors such as health.
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