The Cuban Institute of Freedom of Expression and Press (ICLEP) denounced the persistent shortage of medicines to control hypertension in the province of Villa Clara.
Although they acknowledge that Captopril was distributed in several Santa Clara pharmacies, it was not enough to cover the demand of all patients.
This situation encourages the existence of an informal market, where blister packs of ten pills are sold at an exorbitant price of 300 pesos each, despite being nationally produced, denounced ICLEP on its Facebook page.
“The regime is not projected in order to control the disorder and the misappropriation of medicines existing in the province,” he said.
This situation puts the health and well-being of patients who depend on these drugs to control their hypertension at risk; and leaves those who must allocate large sums of money to acquire them without protection, exposing themselves to the dangers of buying a drug without knowing its origin.
Recently, the independent press echoed the sale of medicines in La Cuevita, Havana, a place where illegal vendors have always existed, but in the midst of the current general crisis that the country is going through, they are almost the only ones who can guarantee access to medicines.
Out of stock pharmacies and hospitals with limited inventories force Cuban citizens to buy medicines on the street, without a prescription or guarantees about the quality or veracity of the product.
It is because of that The Cuban government issued an alert on the circulation of several fake drugs in some areas of the country; although it still does not solve the scarcity crisis.
Cuban activists denounce the lack of medicine to treat chronic diseases, especially psychiatric patients, who do not have the resources to acquire them.
However, the official discourse, far from assuming its share of responsibility, continues to accuse the United States and the embargo of the reason why there are no medicines in Cubaan argument that for many experts in international relations is untenable, due to the very nature of the sanctions against the Cuban communist government.
