The complaint of a father from Santiago has once again brought to the forefront the deep crisis facing the healthcare system in Cuba.
In a video shared by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, Juan Matute Martínez discusses the situation he is facing with his sick daughter at the "La Colonia" Pediatric Hospital in Santiago de Cuba.
"My daughter has been sick since yesterday, with a fever, headaches, nausea... I'm here at the Southern Pediatric Hospital in Santiago de Cuba, La Colonia," the father recounts in the recording, visibly distressed.
According to their testimony, the center lacks basic medications and the necessary resources to conduct tests that would help determine the source of the symptoms.
Without medications or diagnostic tools
Juan Matute was straightforward in describing the situation: "There is no Duralgine, there are no ampules to bring down a child's fever; I had to go out to look for it on the street."
Showing a bottle of dipyrone that he obtained outside the hospital, he added: "Look at this, I had to go out and buy dipyrone on the street so they can reduce the fever of a child in the hospital."
He also pointed out that there were no conditions to conduct analyses: "But it turns out that there is also nothing to analyze, to determine why the children have fevers."
The testimony describes a scenario in which family members must leave the hospital to obtain medications from the informal market that should be available in any pediatric institution.
Anxiety and public denunciation
The father also questioned the State's priorities amidst the healthcare crisis. "Now if they want it, then let them have gasoline, let them have everything to come to my house to ask me why I made this video," he said, alluding to potential reprisals.
And he added: "I’m going to publish it so everyone can see how we are living here in Cuba, in the country where they want people to endure."
In one of the most difficult moments of the video, he stated that what was once presented as a transformative project "has long ceased to be a revolution and has become a regression."
A deteriorating healthcare system
The complaint does not occur in a vacuum.
In recent years, there has been a rise in citizen reports about hospitals lacking medications, diagnostic reagents, and with deteriorating facilities. The shortage of healthcare staff and the migration of professionals further exacerbate the situation.
The country's overall economic crisis has directly affected the public health system.
The lack of foreign currency to import medications and supplies, coupled with structural issues in management and procurement, has left hospitals without essential resources.
The result is that families like Juan Matute's must turn to informal solutions, buying drugs on the street or relying on support networks to obtain basic treatments.
In a pediatric hospital, the lack of antipyretics and diagnostic tools is no small matter: it undermines the ability to adequately care for children with febrile conditions who may require urgent evaluation.
While the official discourse insists on the strength of the health system, testimonies like this reveal a reality marked by deep deficiencies, deteriorating infrastructure, and persistent shortages.
The image of a father forced to go out to buy a bottle to lower his daughter's fever encapsulates the level of precariousness that the healthcare sector has reached.
Juan Matute's complaint highlights not just an individual case, but a broader issue: the vulnerability of patients and their families in a context where access to medications and diagnostic tests is no longer guaranteed, even in a provincial pediatric hospital.
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