José Ángel Portal Miranda is a Cuban doctor born in Cuba in 1968 who has served as Minister of Public Health since July 21, 2018. Portal Miranda is a First and Second Degree specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine, a Second Degree specialist in Health Organization and Administration, and holds a Master's degree in Satisfactory Longevity.
He is also a Deputy to the National Assembly of the People's Power.
Before his position as Minister of Health, he served as deputy director and provincial director of Health in Pinar del Río (from 1996), national director of Hospital Services, and deputy minister of Medical and Social Assistance in the Ministry of Public Health. He is a member of the Central Committee of the PCC.
Portal Miranda manages one of the most affected sectors in the country due to the severe shortage of medications that the island has been facing for years. This scarcity has reached critical levels in the past year (2019-2020), impacting the distribution of medications for chronic patients and the elderly, who endure endless lines from early morning to obtain their medicines, without any guarantees.
On the other hand, there is great public discontent with the management of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) led by Portal, due to the significant deterioration of the Cuban Public Health System. The population continuously denounces through social media the deplorable state of hospitals, polyclinics, and health centers, as well as the increasing number of medical negligence cases in recent years attributed to a lack of resources and organization.
As Minister, Portal Miranda has also been in charge of managing the return of two Cuban doctors who were kidnapped on April 12, 2019, in Kenya, with no results yet.
