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The governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Dmitrievich Beglov, announced on Monday that they are preparing a significant donation for the public health system in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas, which is expected to arrive in Cuba soon.
The announcement was made during the meeting that Beglov held with the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba, Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, during his visit to that Russian city.
The meeting is part of the XXIII session of the Cuba-Russia Intergovernmental Commission, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. The Cuban delegation also includes the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda.
According to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Russian leader reiterated "his solidarity with Cuba and the willingness to deepen collaboration with the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas," which have been sister cities with Saint Petersburg since 2025.
In December of last year, Beglov announced the shipment of three ambulances equipped with ventilators, electrocardiographs, pressure regulators, inhalers, and suction devices, intended for Havana, Matanzas, and Santiago de Cuba, with a maritime shipment planned for January of this year.
Also in December, medications and food for neonatal care arrived from St. Petersburg at the José Ramón López Tabrane Maternal Hospital in Matanzas, for the 29 newborns being cared for in the Neonatology unit at that time.
Russian donations arrive at a time of collapse for the Cuban healthcare system, which has been facing extreme shortages of supplies and medications for years, deteriorating hospitals, lack of personnel, suspension of surgeries due to a lack of fuel, and a infant mortality rate that rose to 8.2 per thousand
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