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Lian Alejandro García Fernández, a three-year-old boy diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus, has gone more than 30 days without receiving the milk that his medical diet requires in Matanzas, as his grandmother reported to the newspaper Girón.
In children with type 1 diabetes, diet is an essential part of treatment alongside insulin administration and glucose monitoring. Dietary stability helps prevent complications and maintain proper disease control. The young boy, residing on Velarde Street in the city of Matanzas, was diagnosed in February 2025 and has since required insulin injections three times a day.
His grandmother, Martha Díaz Álvarez, explained in a letter to the official newspaper that the child has the medical diet with code 07-NI, assigned at the Sierra Maestra warehouse, entitled to liquid milk at establishment No. 925 "Casa Buena Vista."
The situation has been progressively deteriorating over the last six months: first the child received two liters on alternate days, then one liter upon turning three, and the distribution changed to weekly, then every 10 to 15 days, until it reached a month without receiving anything.
"For about six months, the distribution has become too unstable: once a week, then every 10 or 15 days... until now, it has exceeded 30 days without the necessary food," the grandmother wrote.
In response to the crisis, Martha Díaz made efforts with the Local Internal Trade Company, the provincial government, and social workers, but received no response.
On March 20, the child's mother was informed by a group of mothers with diabetic children that there was powdered milk available at the Sierra Maestra warehouse, but when she went there, they told her it was exclusively for children aged seven to thirteen.
"How is it possible that this group with the same condition has not been taken into account, especially when the relevant authorities were aware of the absence of liquid milk?" questioned the journalist following the letter.
The Provincial Directorate of Commerce of Matanzas responded, confirming that, according to the current medical guidelines, powdered milk corresponds to diet 07-AD—for children aged seven to thirteen—while diet 07-NI, for the zero to six age group, only includes liquid milk. This means Lian Alejandro would have to wait four years to access that substitute.
The situation contrasts with the sale of powdered milk in stores that operate in foreign currency, where a bag costs between $7.75 and $8.75, a price difficult for many Cuban families to afford, as their income is received in pesos.
Journalist Fernando López Duarte described the situation as having "unacceptable bureaucratic overtones": "This is a little person who is dependent on insulin. This health condition does not allow for simplifications, much less passive considerations."
The case is set against a structural crisis in the milk supply in Matanzas that worsened since the beginning of 2026 due to fuel shortages. In March, the Dairy Company of the province went from using 900 liters of fuel daily to receiving only 197, which affected entire municipalities for weeks.
In May, the crisis spread to Guantánamo, where the dairy company began distributing unpasteurized milk directly from the fields to the warehouses due to a lack of fuel for the boilers, shifting the health responsibility to the families.
Meanwhile, powdered milk is sold in stores in foreign currency controlled by the state business conglomerate at prices ranging from 7.75 to 8.75 dollars per bag, which are unaffordable for most Cubans who earn in Cuban pesos.
"The lives of these children depend on the essential balance between insulin, nutrition, and physical exercise. Where is the protection for those who, unfortunately, live under these conditions?" asked Martha Díaz Álvarez, who concluded her letter with a statement that encapsulates the despair of thousands of Cuban families: "I still believe in humanity and in the sensitivity to find solutions or alternatives that provide them with a better quality of life."
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