US blockade affects production of medicines in Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 18 (ACN) Despite the fact that the BioCubaFarma Business Group over-fulfilled its export plans and its main economic indicators in 2021, it was unable to make use of part of that income due to the U.S. blockade, which affected the payment to suppliers and as a consequence, the supply of medicines to the national health system.

Mayda Mauri Perez, first vice president of that institution, told the press that of the financial resources available last year, half of them were used in the development and production of the vaccines against COVID-19 and the drugs of the protocol for the treatment of that disease.
The directive pointed out that they were only able to count on 50 % of the financing needed to acquire the raw materials for the drugs included in the basic list.

She explained that as from September, and after completing all the doses of anti-COVID-19 vaccines to immunize the Cuban population, they began to have them available for export and to donate them to sister countries.

However, she added that the economic, commercial and financial blockade prevented the transfer of these revenues to the country, since most of the banks are under strong pressure due to the U.S. policy.

Also, during 2021 there were many suppliers that refused to provide raw materials to the nation, in some cases referring to the debts that the industry has, which sometimes are due to the fact that there are no banking structures that want to trade with Cuba and payments cannot be made, Mauri Perez noted.

The first vice president of BioCubaFarma mentioned that other suppliers, due to their relations with the U.S. government, refused to sell to Cuba.

For 2022, the directive continued, the situation is complex, since 50 % of the income obtained in the previous year has not yet been received and the quantities of raw materials and supplies needed to stabilize the supply of medicines have not yet been purchased.

Mauri Perez insisted that all the doses of anti-COVID-19 vaccines are guaranteed to complete the primary immunization of the population and to administer the booster dose.

The Business Group supplies the health system with more than 900 products including medicines, vaccines, drugs for stomatological use, diagnostic systems, equipment and medical devices, among others.