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 in Satisfactory Longevity.
He is also a Deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power.
Before his position as Minister of Health, he was the deputy director and provincial director of Health in Pinar del Río (since 1996), national director of Hospital Services, and deputy minister of Medical and Social Assistance at the Ministry of Public Health. He is a member of the Central Committee of the PCC.
Portal Miranda oversees one of the most severely impacted sectors of the country due to the longstanding shortage of medications that the island has been facing for years. This scarcity has reached critical levels in the past year (2019-2020), affecting the provision of medicines for chronic patients and the elderly who endure endless queues from early morning, without any guarantees, in order to obtain their medications.
On the other hand, there is significant public discontent with the management of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) led by Portal, due to the notable deterioration of the Cuban public health system. The population continuously voices their concerns on social media about the deplorable condition of hospitals, polyclinics, and health centers, as well as the increasing number of medical negligence cases over the past few years due to a lack of resources and organization.
As Minister, Portal Miranda has also been responsible for managing the return of two Cuban doctors who were kidnapped on April 12, 2019, in Kenya, with no results so far.
