Cuba's healthcare system deteriorates amid US sanctions and fuel shortages

Cuba's healthcare providers are warning of worsening medical shortages, rising death rates and prolonged blackouts as pressure from the United States deepens the island's crisis. The situation is being felt most sharply in Havana, where doctors say conditions at the William Soler Pediatric Hospital have deteriorated in recent months. The account points to a broader collapse in the country's health system, which remains formally free and universal but is under severe strain.

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At the hospital's surgical unit and anaesthesiology department, head Alioth Fernandez said the survival rate for newborns needing neonatal surgery has fallen sharply. He said that in the first half of this year, more than half of such cases ended in death, compared with more than 90% survival in the past. The report links the worsening conditions to a fuel blockade announced by US President Donald Trump on 29 January, which threatened tariffs on any country exporting fuel to Cuba.

The immediate consequences have gone beyond the hospital ward. The article says only one foreign oil tanker has reached Cuba in recent months, contributing to nearly daily blackouts that can last up to 20 hours. Doctors also describe shortages of essential items, diminished hygiene standards, malnutrition and limited access to antibiotics.

Fernandez said some deaths appear to have been avoidable and were not caused by surgical complications alone. The crisis matters because Cuba's healthcare system has long been one of the state's most visible achievements and a central part of its political identity. The current deterioration suggests that energy shortages and supply constraints are now affecting not only daily life but also the country's ability to deliver basic medical care.

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That raises wider questions about public health, state capacity and the human cost of external pressure on an already fragile system. The report places the present decline in the context of Cuba's post-1959 model, in which healthcare was presented as a flagship social service. While the system remains free and universal, the article says experts believe its reach and quality have diminished significantly.

The strain is now being measured in practical terms, including longer waiting lists for procedures and a growing backlog of patients. Fernandez described how the hospital's previous system worked, saying patients were usually added to a waiting list according to their medical condition and the date they arrived for treatment. He said names rarely remained on the list for more than a month in the past.

The current backlog suggests that the system is no longer able to move patients through care at the same pace, although the article does not give a precise figure for the number waiting. The human impact is especially acute for children, who are among the most vulnerable patients in the system. Fernandez said children bear no responsibility for the political conflict and should not be made to suffer its consequences.

His comments underline the extent to which the crisis has moved from a diplomatic dispute into a direct public health emergency. The article also points to the role of sanctions and fuel restrictions in worsening the island's broader shortages. With electricity cuts lasting much of the day, hospitals and households alike face disruptions to power, transport and supply chains.

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In that environment, maintaining sterile conditions, preserving medicines and keeping surgical services running becomes increasingly difficult. What remains unclear is how far the deterioration has spread beyond the hospital cited in the report and whether the authorities can stabilise supplies in the near term. The article does not provide an official Cuban government response or updated national mortality data.

The next developments to watch are whether fuel deliveries increase, whether blackouts ease and whether hospitals report further losses in surgical survival rates.

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