The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will grant a loan of 46.7 million euros (45.25 million dollars) for the purchase of protective equipment and the preparation of 200 million vaccines against the coronavirus in Cuba.
This agency will channel a credit granted by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the main financier of the governments of Nicaragua and El Salvador, to strengthen the infrastructure of the Cuban industry in the production of injectable antibiotics, parenteral solutions (serums), medicines generics and biosimilars, the UNDP said Thursday in a statement.
With this loan, it is expected to achieve the production of 200 million doses of vaccines, as well as to increase the economic productivity of the national biopharmaceutical industry with the development of “innovative medicines and the modernization of technology.”
“This operation, in particular, will contribute to confronting the health crisis through the development of vaccines that reduce the risk of people becoming infected with the covid-19 virus and will also contribute to the economic reactivation of the country,” said Dante Mossi, president of CABEI, last January, when the bank approved the financing.
A part of the money will go to the purchase of diagnostic medical equipment, health supplies and protective materials used by professionals in the treatment of people infected with the coronavirus and other communicable diseases.
CABEI, created to finance Central American integration in 1960, accepted Cuba as an “extra-regional partner” and became the first multilateral organization in the area to include the Island among its members after the triumph of the 1959 Revolution. The institution has not detailed the terms of the operation, but its loans are usually granted under “soft” conditions, with interest rates of 3-4%.
CABEI, created in 1960, accepted Cuba as an “extra-regional partner” and became the first multilateral organization in the area to incorporate the Island
The new resources arrive at a time when BioCubaFarma is in financial trouble because it has not been able to collect most of the 200 million dollars in profits supposedly obtained from the sale of the Soberana and Abdala vaccines, confirmed Eduardo Martínez Díaz, president of the pharmaceutical business group, on September 14.
The state company spent half of its resources in 2021 to develop drugs against covid-19, but has not been able to recover the investment from its exports. Although it has not revealed to which countries it sold its products, this newspaper published in 2021 that Vietnam bought five million doses and batches of Soberana were sent to Iran, although in that case the serum was produced in conjunction with Tehran. there was also shipments of more than one million vaccines last January to Venezuela.
Cuba also sent seven million doses of Soberana 02 and Abdala to Nicaragua in 2021, at a unit cost of seven dollars for each dose, for a total of 49 million dollars, according to a document presented last June by the Daniel Ortega regime. , when he tried to access a loan of 116 million with the World Bank.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our journal. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
