BATABANO, Cuba (AP) 鈥� After two surgeries and several rounds of radiation therapy over the past four years to treat a tumor, Irisleydis Trist谩 has spent the past seven months unable to get a CT scan to determine whether the cancer has grown or spread.
The CT scanner at Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, the country鈥檚 leading hospital, is broken. Doctors have told her that, because of a lack of resources, they cannot operate on her again in , she said.
鈥淚 feel like my life is in danger,鈥� Trist谩, 34, a mother of a 13-year-old from Bataban贸, a town 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of Havana, told The Associated Press. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it has grown. We have no way of knowing,鈥� she said.
Cuba鈥檚 once-vaunted system of free universal healthcare . The crisis, say analysts, has been compounded by they attribute to tightened U.S. sanctions on the island鈥檚 energy sector, worsening an economy that had already been struggling for years.
The Trump administration is pressuring Cuba鈥檚 socialist government to implement major economic reforms and change its way of governance in return for a lifting of sanctions.
Hospitals across the island face shortages of supplies including syringes, gauze, vaccines and anesthetics. They also lack spare parts to repair equipment such as hemodialysis and CT scan machines, leaving patients like Trist谩 without critical care. have also made it difficult for her to follow the diet prescribed by her doctors.
Medical specialists and technicians .
Children among the hardest hit
Cuba was already grappling with an economic crisis following the and the tightening of U.S. sanctions. The situation worsened after U.S. authorities in early January, depriving Cuba of one of its staunchest allies. The White House then threatened countries that sold fuel to the island and stepped up pressure on to stop doing business with Havana.
The result was lasting more than 20 hours, gasoline rationing and declines in industrial and food production, among other effects.
For Cuba, a country with health indicators comparable to those of developed nations 鈥� including low mortality, high life expectancy, broad vaccination coverage and widespread prenatal care 鈥� the situation 鈥渋s shocking,鈥� said Mario Cruz Pe帽ate, the Pan American Health Organization and representative in the island.
Cruz Pe帽ate said the fuel shortages have caused 鈥渜uite large鈥� disruptions to health services, affecting not only the service itself, but the entire process around the continuity of care.
He added that PAHO and the WHO themselves also faced difficulties in distributing humanitarian aid. The United Nations, on which they depend, launched a $94 million emergency plan in March to address the foreseeable humanitarian crisis resulting from the energy blockade.
A government report released in June said the survival rate for children with cancer before the energy restrictions began in January.
鈥淲e have had children die. Two so far this year,鈥� said Yolainy Romero, a specialist at the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology in Havana, during a tour of the pediatric ward. 鈥淭his situation is terrible.鈥�
Romero said some children, particularly those from distant provinces, must return to the hospital every 21 days for treatment.
鈥淪ometimes a week or even 15 days go by before they can come because of the fuel shortage,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard,鈥� said Adriana Felipe Garc铆a, whose 4-year-old daughter, Nashly Zerquera, is being treated at the hospital. They traveled about 350 kilometers (217 miles) from their home in Sancti Sp铆ritus, east of Havana, for her treatment.
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