The scarcity of medicines It remains in Cuba mainly due to the lack of raw materials and materials for its manufacture, according to official sources.
The companies of the state conglomerate BioCubaFrama currently produce 369 of the 627 medicines included in the country’s basic table, according to Eduardo Martínez Díaz, president of that entity, during his speech on the television program Round table that review the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
The manager pointed out that this production corresponds to 60% of the total, which represents “a high level of sovereignty,” adds the media.
Of the 627 medicines in the Basic Table, #BioCubaFarma produces 369. pic.twitter.com/MoIPs8gCqV
– BioCubaFarma (@BioCubaFarma) September 14, 2022
The also doctor of science explained that a total of 996 products are currently manufactured in Cuba and 757 of them are destined for the National system of health.
In this sense, Martínez Díaz acknowledged that there have been “fluctuations” in delivery in recent years, which increased from 2020 with the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19when 50% of the available financial resources were used to produce medicines and vaccines against that disease.
In addition, he confirmed that in the current year the deficit levels are higher than those of 2021, since the shortage of raw materials has been added to stoppages in the production plants due to breakages and maintenance.
“There are medicines that use a large number of components and with one that is missing it can no longer be manufactured,” he added, before explaining that in recent years the situation has become more complex due to the economic crisis and the tightening of the sanctions imposed. by the United States government.
As causes of this deficit, he also mentioned the lack of necessary and timely financing to acquire raw materials, as well as problems paying suppliers due to the refusal of banks to work with Cuba due to the measures of the US embargo.
Martínez Díaz added that the worldwide limitations in the acquisition of some resources for pharmaceutical use and the effects on international logistics associated with the pandemic have also influenced the situation.
The manager assured, according to the ACNthat there is “maximum control of all processes”, with a work system that ranges from planning, production and distribution of medicines.
Since the middle of the year, the BioCubaFarma Business Group has begun the process of contracting material resources to ensure production for the following year, he commented.
The state conglomerate is made up of 45 companies, 31 in Cuba and 14 abroad. The entity has 110 modern production lines with a high manufacturing standard and undertakes investments to expand capacities.
As reported in the Round tablethe group intends to complete this year a new plant for the production of injectable antibiotics that would allow them to be supplied at the beginning of 2023.
In another intervention, the vice president of the entity, Tania Urquiza Rodríguez, reported that the substitution of 10 raw materials for the manufacture of medicines is projected, which represents a production of 2,000 tons worth 4.6 million dollars a year. .
In turn, he explained that this program covers medicines, raw materials, primary and secondary packaging materials, equipment, diagnostics, spare parts, furniture, devices and medical technologies, according to another report of the ACN.
Urquiza Rodríguez confirmed that almost all pharmacological groups are affected, and that in the midst of this context, priority levels were established for medicines based on the impact on health, including those for hemodialysis and serums.
To annually guarantee the 63 medicines that are distributed through the control cards, 43 million dollars are needed, and of these the 12 with the highest consumption are prioritized, said the directive, who announced that the production of oral contraceptives will be resumed from the next october.
Cuba is going through a severe economic crisis that is reflected, among other aspects, in the shortage of basic products such as food and medicine. To alleviate this situation, the authorities authorized an exemption from the payment of tariffs on the import of medicines for non-commercial purposes, in force for the time being until the end of 2022.
