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U.S. trade embargo harms medicine production, says Cuba

HAVANA
2022-07-20 05:50

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HAVANA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. sanctions against Cuba are harming the island nation's production of medicine, Tania Urquiza, vice president of Cuban pharmaceuticals maker BioCubaFarma, said on Tuesday.

The U.S. blockade restricts Cuba's access to raw materials, supplies, spare parts and reagents that are necessary for the country's production of medicine, Urquiza said.

"The unilateral policy of the United States has created a financial siege against the island, and created a group of shipping companies that refuse to work with Cuba," she said during a press conference in Havana.

The Caribbean nation needs to import more than 10,000 kinds of inputs to guarantee national drug output, including some 5,000 reagents.

BioCubaFarma produces about 1,000 medications, about 80 percent of which are for the public healthcare system.

Cuba's priorities regarding medicine production are hemodialysis and serums, as well as the treatment for seriously ill patients and chronic non-communicable diseases.

Due to U.S. sanctions, Cuba cannot access equipment or technology with more than 10 percent U.S. components.
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