The consumable materials that will keep two gasometers, used daily in hospitals in Santiago de Cuba, operational for a year have already arrived in Havana and are awaiting transportation to their final destination.
The supplies will make it possible to conduct approximately 13,700 vital analyses for newborns, patients in intensive care, and individuals with serious illnesses.
The announcement was made this Thursday by Mark Kuster, founder and director of the Swiss NGO Camaquito.
"Today is a special day for me. The materials have already arrived in Havana. Now I hope they will soon arrive in Santiago de Cuba as well," he wrote on Facebook.
Kuster explained that the devices are in working condition, but they need supplies in order to be used.
"Without these supplies, the equipment stops functioning, even if it is in perfect condition," he noted.
"Thanks to the support of Camaquito, we have managed to finance the necessary materials for a full year. This will allow for approximately 13,700 vital analyses, especially for newborns, intensive care patients, and individuals with serious illnesses," he explained.
The director of the NGO summarized the project's human impact with a clear statement: "We are not just talking about disposable material. We are talking about 13,700 opportunities to save a life."
Kuster also thanked the individuals and institutions that made the initiative possible, as well as the health authorities in Santiago for their collaboration.
"I want to express my sincerest gratitude to all the people and institutions who made this project possible, and also to the health authorities of Santiago de Cuba for their collaboration," he concluded.
Gasometers are blood gas analyzers that quickly measure parameters such as pH, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and electrolytes. Their results are essential for assessing the condition of patients in neonatology, intensive care, and respiratory emergencies.
The equipment is installed in Santiago de Cuba, at the Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas Alfonso General Hospital and the Dr. Juan de la Cruz Martínez Maceira North Children's Hospital.
On that occasion, it was revealed that the funding to acquire the consumables amounted to approximately 17,000 dollars.
Camaquito had also obtained authorization from the relevant authorities in Santiago de Cuba to carry out the project.
The arrival of the materials in Havana represents, therefore, a new phase of an initiative whose funding had been secured months earlier and aims to prevent equipment in good condition from becoming useless due to a lack of supplies.
The project continues a cooperation initiated in March 2023, when Camaquito signed an agreement with the Embassy of Japan in Cuba for 75,068 euros to acquire two diagnostic devices and two incubators intended for the same hospitals in Santiago.
Camaquito is an independent international organization, without political, religious, or profit motives, founded by Kuster in 2001. In 25 years of operation, it has raised over four million euros for projects in health, education, culture, and social inclusion in Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba.
In April 2026, Kuster also secured assistance of $50,000 to repair homes affected by Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba.
That same month, an announced an additional investment of $100,000 in civil infrastructure over the next five years.
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