The Cuban Vice Prime Minister Eduardo Martínez Díaz acknowledged this Friday during the Round Table on July 3 that health indicators in Cuba have fallen to alarming levels: infant mortality has doubled, more than 100,000 people are awaiting surgery, and the survival rate of children with cancer has plummeted by 20 percentage points.
The official admitted that the infant mortality rate, which had been between four and five deaths per 1,000 live births, has now risen to 9.3, double its best historical record.
"The social indicators in our country have been deteriorating. I cited the example of infant mortality. We used to have four or five infant deaths, and it has now doubled precisely because of this situation," stated Martínez Díaz before the cameras of the state channel.
Verified data shows that the deterioration is even more pronounced in the capital: in January and February of this year, Havana recorded a rate of 14 deaths per 1,000 live births, the highest figure in over two decades, according to information collected by studies on the increase of infant mortality in Cuba.
Regarding the surgical waiting lists, the Deputy Prime Minister was emphatic: "Today, we have surgical waiting lists of more than 100,000 people, with over 10,000 of them being children awaiting surgery."
The pediatric oncology situation is equally serious. Martínez Díaz acknowledged that the survival rate of Cuban children with cancer dropped from 85% to 65%, a decline of 20 percentage points in just a few years.
The official explained that the shortage of cytostatics—medications for cancer treatment—forced the postponement and even interruption of ongoing treatments.
The regime invested more than 5 million dollars to reactivate the production plant for those pharmaceuticals, although it is experiencing difficulties with electricity and fuel.
The overall picture of the healthcare system is one of structural collapse.
In April of this year, 461 out of 651 essential medicines were out of stock in state pharmacies, representing a deficit of over 70% of the basic medication list, according to data collected in reports on the crisis in Cuban hospitals.
More than 300 ambulances remain out of service due to a lack of fuel or spare parts, with only 25 electric units available for the entire island.
The same old justification: the blockade
The vice prime minister attributed the entire deterioration to the U.S. embargo and labeled it a "genocide": "Today we have production plants that are idle because they lack fuel to operate their boilers. The impact is real. It is a blockade that truly constitutes a genocide occurring. This has no other name."
The regime also referenced a report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), based in Washington, which indicated that the tightening of the embargo would have caused approximately 1,800 children to be born in Cuba.
Independent analysts, however, point out that the crisis also has internal causes: the massive emigration of doctors, corruption, and decades of underinvestment in healthcare infrastructure, factors that the official discourse systematically overlooks.
The Cuban healthcare system has been pushed to the brink of collapse, as acknowledged in February by the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, to the AP agency.
Martínez Díaz's revelations come just days before Cuba convenes the UN General Assembly for a debate on the embargo, scheduled for July 7, 2026, in a context where a leaked diplomatic cable from Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed instructions to U.S. embassies to pressure other countries and prevent that debate.
Filed under: