Non-Aligned Movement health ministers raise alarm over worsening health crisis in Cuba

May 22, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – Health ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement have issued a strong statement from Geneva highlighting the severe and escalating impact of prolonged unilateral economic, commercial, financial, and energy-related restrictions on the health system of Cuba.

The ministers warn that shortages of essential medicines, vaccines, medical equipment, and critical energy supplies are increasingly undermining the country’s healthcare delivery, with serious consequences for patients, including rising mortality rates, disrupted surgical and cancer care, and interruptions to maternal and child health services. They also call on the World Health Organization to document the health impacts and support the establishment of binding humanitarian exemptions to safeguard essential medical systems. The statement concludes with a reaffirmation of solidarity with the Cuban people and healthcare workers operating under difficult conditions.

See full statement below:

All human beings, without distinction of any kind, have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The right to health is a fundamental part of human rights and of a dignified life. The realisation of that right impacts all the objectives and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In this context, we express our deep concern over the serious consequences for Cuba’s health system of the unilateral economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed against that nation for nearly seven decades, which since last January 29 has shifted toward a qualitatively different and quantitatively even more aggressive phase: energy strangulation through the blockade of fuel supplies.

The right to health must not be undermined by the imposition of unilateral coercive measures, nor by the use of energy as an instrument of coercion.

The shortage and lack of availability of medicines, pharmaceutical reagents, vaccines, and medical equipment caused by the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Cuba severely affect the Cuban health system.

National health systems depend on a continuous supply of electricity and on logistics that are now being severely hindered in Cuba, resulting in the deterioration of health indicators.

Mortality rates are increasing, life expectancy is declining, the prevalence of physical and mental disorders and disabilities is rising, and physical and psychological suffering is worsening.

Cuba’s infant mortality rate increased from 4.0 per thousand live births in 2018 to 9.9 at present, representing an increase of 148%. Had the historical trend been maintained, approximately 1,800 children would have survived during that period.

Due to instability in fuel and electricity supply, more than 100,000 patients are currently awaiting surgical procedures, including more than 12,000 minors. More than 4,000 cancer patients are on waiting lists for surgery and cannot undergo their operations.

The monitoring of 34,854 pregnant women and radiotherapy treatments for 16,000 people face recurring interruptions.

The lack of refrigerated transportation prevents the timely vaccination of nearly 30,000 children, while close to 3,000 patient are dependent on hemodialysis which require extraordinary efforts by healthcare personnel to maintain continuity of their treatments amid power outages.

We reaffirm the Cuban people’s right to health. We urge the World Health Organization to document the serious health impacts of the unilateral coercive measures imposed against Cuba and to promote binding humanitarian exemptions that protect that nation’s health system.

We also reaffirm our solidarity with the Cuban people and with their healthcare professionals who, despite extreme conditions, continue working tirelessly to sustain essential services and protect life.

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Cuba, health crisis, health ministers

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