Cuban health system reports worsening shortages and treatment delays

Key points

• Cuban doctors reported rising deaths, shortages of medicines and supplies, and reduced access to surgeries amid worsening energy and transport disruptions.
• MINSAP reported childhood cancer survival falling from 85% to 65%, while infant mortality reached 9.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2025.
• More than 100,000 Cubans were waiting for elective or reconstructive surgery, including 5,152 cancer patients and about 12,000 children, MINSAP said.
• MINSAP reported that 300 of Cuba’s 395 domestically produced medicines were unavailable because raw materials could not be secured.
• Cuba allowed private pharmacies to be established on Wednesday as part of economic reforms, while shortages linked to the fuel blockade continued.