Cuba denounces negative impact of the blockade on health sector

 HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 25 (ACN) The Cuban health sector continues to be one of the worst hit by the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States, the Ministry of Public Health of the Caribbean nation said today.

On Twitter, the body pointed out that the extraterritorial nature of that policy hinders the purchase of spare parts, the maintenance and replacement of equipment for medical care and research.

An example of this is the impossibility for Cuba to acquire TAVI percutaneous aortic valves, whose use avoids complex surgeries and long hospital stays, and guarantees a better quality of life.

According to a message from the foreign ministry on the same social network, if Cuba could have access to these devices, 158,000 patients with severe valvular stenosis would benefit from them.

The Cuban embassy to the United States also stressed that the unilateral policy prevents the purchase of the JAWS screen reader, software from the U.S. company Henter-Joyce that allows visually impaired people to interact with computers.

When presenting the most recent report on the effects of the blockade on Cuba, foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez detailed that although the Caribbean nation is capable of producing more than 60 % of its basic list of medicines, these levels have not been guaranteed for months due to the impact of the blockade.