National Nurses United

J U LY | A U G U S T | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 17 INTERNATIONAL O n july 10, Cuban ambassador to the United States, Dr. Tanieris Diéguez, and other embassy offi- cials visited with National Nurses United RN members and allied political and community groups to describe first hand the devastation the current United States fuel blockade of Cuba was unnecessarily wreak- ing upon the daily lives and public health of the Cuban people. Spurred by the Trump administration's goal of regime change and potential takeover of the island, plus historical ani- mosity toward the Cuban government, the United States since January has blocked oil tankers and threatened other countries against providing any oil to Cuba. Lack of fuel has created a humanitarian crisis, with more than 36-plus hour electricity blackouts and an inability for Cuban society to func- tion normally. "The same forces destroying Cuba are trying to silence our union," said Puneet Maharaj, executive director of NNU, when she introduced NNU's guests. NNU this summer donated supplies to Cuba via Global Health Partners, an organi- zation with a decades-old medical aid and exchange program with Cuba and that does humanitarian work in Latin America. Despite 60 years of U.S. sanctions against Cuba, the Cuban people have nevertheless developed a robust public health care system based on prevention that not only achieves better outcomes than the United States, but also manages to produce biotechnological innovations and educate doctors and other medical professionals to deliver health care around the world. But Diéguez reported that since the oil siege began, infant mortality has more than doubled. 100,000 Cubans are waiting for surgery, with 12,000 of those children. 33,000 pregnant patients are waiting for genetic ultrasounds. Cancer treatments have stopped. Routine vaccinations are being skipped because some of the vaccines require refrigeration. "An energy stop of 10 to 30 seconds is enough for a baby to die," said Diéguez as just one small example of how the fuel blockade kills Cubans. "Behind all these numbers, there is a human being." Despite the current health care horror stories, Diéguez described the health care infrastructure and system built upon illness prevention that Cuba is extremely proud of. "Prevention is the main goal of our health system," she said. "Our main work is to help educate families to prevent disease." To that end, the country is organized into 168 municipalities and about 14 provinces. One family doctor and one nurse is assigned to live in and provide care to a neighborhood of 400 to 500 people. The health care team is hands on and embedded in the community. If you miss a checkup, appointment, or immunization, "the family doctor will come knocking on your door," said Diéguez. If patients need a greater level of care or spe- cialty care, they will see staff at the nearest polyclinic, where providers work closely with their family doctor. And then of course patients who need inpatient care go to the hospital. Cubans also think holistically about health, too, and the social forces that deter- mine health. In 2022, after more than a year of preparation, many proposed drafts, and nationwide discussion, voters in Cuba adopted a new Family Code that recognized and protected a dramatically expanded scope for family and parental relationships. Diéguez and everybody present urged the United States to end the fuel blockade, end sanctions, normalize relations with Cuba, and stop military threats and aggression toward the island nation. Due to genera- tions of economic sanctions, Diéguez pointed out that people in the United States also suffer because they are denied treat- ments, such as various Covid and cancer vaccines Cuba has developed, that they could benefit from. Despite the Cuban people's extreme hardship due to the fuel blockade, Diéguez said that "We are not going to surrender, never" and that we "will continue to be cre- ative and do what we know to do." —Lucia Hwang Ambassador details how U.S. fuel blockade harms Cuban health

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