SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- The Minister of Public Health of CubaJosé Angel Portal Miranda, said this Wednesday that they were putting their “technical capacity and experience in the production of medicines” at the service of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the countries of the region.
During his speech at the XI Pan-American Conference for the Harmonization of Pharmaceutical Regulation (CPARF), held in Mexico, the regime official pointed out that they also offered their experience in the development of “biotechnological products and vaccines, as well as the development achieved by the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (Cecmed),” according to the official media. Cubadebate.
In this regard, he said that Mexico can confirm “the effectiveness that many of these have had products once applied among their populations.”
In his testimony, he praised the state-owned company BioCubaFarmaresponsible for the production of 62 percent of the medicines used in the national basic list (most of which are missing), even though Cubans must access the informal market to buy imported medicines at high prices that do not exist in Cuba.
As part of our activities in Mexico, we met with Dr. Judit Rius Sanjuan, director of the Department of Innovation, Access to Medicines and Health Technologies of the @opsoms.
We ratify the will of #Cuba to promote regional cooperation and integration. pic.twitter.com/93EUBj8SaO— Jose Angel Portal Miranda (@japortalmiranda) August 21, 2024
He also promoted some of the great export successes of the Cuban biopharmaceutical industry: Jusvinza, an immunomodulatory peptide; Heberprot-P, intended for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers; Cimavax-EGF, a therapeutic vaccine against lung cancer; Nimotuzumab, used in the treatment of head and neck tumors, among others.
In a country marked by a shortage of medicines and precarious hospital care, Portal Miranda advocated in his speech for the “right of all to health” and called for “reaching public policies” and promoting “regional cooperation.”
In the midst of the crisis, the European Union (EU) recently allocated 500,000 euros to “strengthen” the health system, amid a severe crisis of supplies and medicines in Cuban hospitals.
The funding includes the purchase of medicines, supplies and medical equipment and improving access to essential sexual and reproductive health services. The money is also intended to support neonatal services in order to guarantee quality care for sick newborns, including “training health professionals in comprehensive neonatal care.”
Last year, Cuban authorities acknowledged that there were 251 medicines are missing40% of the basic framework. The list included both those manufactured in the country and those imported.
Although the regime boasts of having powerful drugs to offer to other regions, among the drugs with the lowest availability have been those aimed at patients with cancer. There has also been no regular supply of five of the 12 drugs controlled by card: fluticasone in aerosol form; isosorbide dinitrate 10 mg; metformin 500 mg in tablets; enalapril 20 mg in tablets; and warfarin 2 mg in tablets.
