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Denial of Food and Medicine
In a study published in March 1997, the impact of the US blockade on health
and nutrition in Cuba was examined by the American Association for World
Health (AAWH) which serves as the US Committee for the World Health
Organisation. The following is an extract from that report:
"After a year-long investigation, the American Association for World
Health (AAWH) has determined that the U.S. embargo of Cuba has dramatically
harmed the health and nutrition of large numbers of ordinary Cuban
citizens. It is our expert medical opinion that the US embargo has imposed
significant burdens on the Cuban health care system. But, since 1992, the
number of unmet medical needs - patients going without essential drugs or
doctors performing medical procedures without adequate equipment- was
further tightened by the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act.
"A humanitarian catastrophe has been averted only because the Cuban
government has maintained a high level of budgetary support for a health
care to all of its citizens. Cuba still has an infant mortality rate half
that of the city of Washington, D.C. Even so, the U.S. embargo of food and
the de facto embargo on medical supplies has wreaked havoc with the
island's model primary health care system. The crisis has been compounded
by the country's generally weak economic resources and by the loss of trade
with the Soviet bloc.
"Such a stringent embargo, if applied to most other countries in the
developing world, would have had catastrophic effects on the public health
system. Cuba's health-care system, however, is uniformly considered the
pre-eminent model in the Third World.
"The Cuban constitution makes health care a right of every citizen and the
responsibility of the government. The system is based on universal coverage
and comprehensive care, essentially free of charge to the population. Over
the years, the central government has placed a top priority on public
health expenditures in the national budget and allocated considerable human
resources to public health strategies that have earned praise from the
World Health Organization, UNICEF and other international bodies and
individual health care authorities.
"...... in the 1990's Cuba's health statistics more closely approximated
those of the nations of Europe and North America than of developing
countries, with 195 inhabitants per physician, and 95% of the population
attended by family doctors living in the communities they serve. Primary
care is bolstered with 440 polyclinics; and secondary and tertiary
facilities include 284 hospitals and 11 national institutes with inpatient
and research capacities.
"Quite clearly Cuba's health care delivery system has been severely
weakened, particularly at the secondary and tertiary levels of care. Only
the pre-existing excellence of the system and the extraordinary dedication
of the Cuban medical community have prevented infinitely greater loss of
life and suffering.
"Finally, the AAWH wishes to emphasise the stringent nature of the US
trade embargo against Cuba. Few other embargoes in recent history -
including those targeting Iran, Libya, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia,
Chile or Iraq - have included an outright ban on the sale of food. Few
other embargoes have so restricted medical commerce as to deny the
availability of life-saving medicines to ordinary citizens. Such an embargo
appears to violate the most basic international charters and conventions
governing human rights, including the United Nations charter, the charter
of the Organisation of American States and the articles of the Geneva
Convention governing the treatment of civilians during war time."