Drug shortages turn the fear of getting sick into a daily worry for Cubans

A woman walks along a dirt road in a rural setting in Cuba and enters a property. Later, the person examines various medications, blister packs of pills, and bottles stored in a wooden drawer. A Cuban citizen describes the shortage of medications as a daily concern that worsens the fear of getting sick in Cuba, where, according to her testimony, medical prescriptions do not always translate into treatments available to patients. The account exposes a situation in which the search for drugs takes up hours of waiting, requires visiting different points of sale and, frequently, ends without results. For this Cuban woman, access to medications is no longer a step after the medical consultation and has become a central part of the illness. The citizen states that many Cubans stand in long lines to try to buy the medications they need. Upon arriving at the establishments, she says, they often find that the products are not available. That uncertainty affects everyone from those who need relief from common ailments to patients who receive medical instructions for more complex conditions. "The real problem of this evil does not occur when our head hurts," the woman states, explaining that the situation takes on another dimension when a person falls ill and cannot obtain the prescribed treatment. In her account, the shortage is tied to a repeated experience: going to a doctor, getting a prescription, and returning home without the indicated drugs. The difficulty does not end at the doctor's office, but rather shifts to the subsequent search in pharmacies, informal networks, and personal contacts. A young woman in Cuba tries to pay for a medication with peso bills at the counter of a pharmacy with empty shelves. (Illustrative image Infobae) Faced with the lack of products in the usual channels, the interviewee states that numerous citizens turn to the black market for medications. She describes that route as one of the few alternatives for obtaining supplements and treatments they cannot find in official establishments. However, access through that route depends on the money available. According to her testimony, the prices exclude part of the population and place families before a choice between addressing a health need and facing an expense that can exceed their means. "When your health and your wallet suffer equally, you no longer only have the worry of getting better, but also that of finding relief or being able to pay for it," she expressed. The shortage of medications, according to her description, is not limited to the discomfort of postponing a treatment. It also opens a gap between those who can acquire products through informal channels and those who must wait for an uncertain restocking or look for other options. A young woman with a ribbon of the Cuban flag inhales the vapor of boiled plants as an alternative amid the shortage of medications. (Illustrative image Infobae) The woman assures that, in recent years, some families have found answers in so-called green medicine or in medications sent from abroad by relatives, friends, or acquaintances. In that scenario, the neighbor who receives a shipment from abroad can become a reference for someone who needs a remedy. Community aid and personal networks gain relevance in the face of the absence of products in pharmacies, according to the account. The testimony links the shortage to a fear that goes beyond the medical diagnosis. For the woman, getting sick means facing two problems at once: the ailment and the possibility of accessing treatment. "In Cuba, the fear of getting sick is not only the fear of the illness, it is also the fear of the solution," she states. That phrase sums up a concern that, according to her description, accompanies patients even before knowing what medication they will need. The woman mentions the epidemics that, in her view, repeat every year as one of the moments when the shortage of medications becomes most visible. In those circumstances, she maintains, receiving a prescription does not guarantee that the patient can begin the indicated treatment.