‘To play God’: Cuba’s healthcare system collapses under US pressure

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Cuba’s public healthcare system is under severe strain as the Trump administration intensifies US sanctions, including a January 29 fuel blockade that threatens penalties against countries exporting fuel to the island. The report, from Havana and published July 30, says Cuba has faced near-daily power cuts lasting up to 20 hours, shortages of medicine and supplies, and disruption to shipping and financial transactions.

Doctors cited by Al Jazeera described worsening outcomes at major Havana hospitals. Alioth Fernandez, who leads the surgical unit and anaesthesiology department at William Soler Pediatric Hospital, said survival among newborns needing neonatal surgery has fallen sharply, with more than half of such cases dying in the first half of the year. He attributed many deaths not to surgery itself but to infections, poor hygiene conditions, malnutrition and limited antibiotics. Obstetrician and gynaecologist Lilian Delgado also reported shortages affecting maternity care and rising risks for pregnant patients.

The article places the crisis in the context of the decades-long US embargo and more recent Trump measures, including Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, restrictions affecting energy, finance and mining, and a May executive order limiting business that supports the Cuban government. Al Jazeera says major shipping firms Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM have ended Cuba operations following the order.

Cuban health authorities, according to the report, have suspended non-essential medical services to conserve energy and resources. Al Jazeera cites ministry figures showing childhood cancer survival falling from 85 percent to 65 percent during the oil blockade, and infant and maternal mortality rising in recent years. The report underscores how political and economic pressure is translating into rationed care in a system long promoted as a central achievement of Cuba’s revolution.