UN Official Declares Cuba a "Leader in Health Issues"

Susana Sottoli, the regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), asserted that Cuba "remains a leader in reproductive health and population issues." This statement was made on Tuesday in Havana after a meeting with Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, who expressed gratitude for UNFPA's support "during these challenging times, which manifests in various areas: demographic, advisory, and reproductive sexual health, among others."

"Despite the challenges, Cuba remains a leader in reproductive health and population issues, and it is always a pleasure and an honor to have Cuba accompany us with its voice in these international forums," Sottoli stated during her working visit.

Contradictions Amidst Praise

The UN official praised Cuba's "leadership" in reproductive health and population matters, even as the country has been experiencing a decline in birth rates since 2011, recording the lowest birth rate in 60 years in 2023. Only 90,300 births were recorded last year, 15,000 fewer than in 2020, when, according to UN data, Cuba had 105,616 births.

The economic crisis and mass exodus, primarily of young adults, have left Cuba's demographic dynamics increasingly critical. Since 2021, Cuba has faced a migration crisis, with nearly a million people, many of whom are young, fleeing misery and hopelessness, shaping the country's population landscape.

In this context, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz emphasized in early March the "urgency of incorporating attention to demographic dynamics as a priority element in economic and social development strategies, both territorially and locally," during a meeting of the government commission analyzing the country's demographic trends.

It seems Sottoli either overlooked or interpreted differently the data indicating that in 2021 Cuba recorded the highest infant mortality rate in 20 years, according to the Directorate of Medical Records and Statistics of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). In the island, 99,093 live births were registered, 5,945 fewer than the previous year, resulting in an infant mortality rate of 7.6 per thousand live births.

The UN official's remarks did not address factors such as rampant inflation affecting Cuban families, increasing poverty, the cost of living, the collapse of public services, food shortages, insecurity, and other issues impacting family planning and Cubans' motivation to have children on the island.

Overlooked Health Crisis

Were Cuban authorities transparent with Sottoli about the tragedy in mid-January 2023 at the Diez de Octubre Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital in Havana? Did she learn about the death of 10 babies due to a suspected infectious outbreak in this hospital? According to the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, the death of six of the newborns was due to "the presence of an infection outbreak associated with healthcare in the neonatal intensive care unit" of the hospital.

A National Commission investigation "showed that six of the 10 babies who died—two of whom died after the incident was reported on January 16—had signs of sepsis with positive blood cultures for Gram-negative bacteria, and the others died due to other causes related to their delicate health condition."

Does Sottoli know about Ester Lianet Asprón Rey, a two-year-old girl in critical condition due to the lack of a valve for hydrocephalus? She is still hospitalized in Las Tunas, in case Sottoli's "working visit" includes more than just the Palace where Díaz-Canel roams with a galactic sling (while Cubans suffer from pharmaceutical shortages, hospitals are collapsing, lacking medical supplies, and falling into ruin, resorting to using pieces of cardboard to splint fractured bones).

Is Sottoli aware of Amanda Lemus Ortiz, the girl who had to undergo a liver transplant in Spain after the Cuban health system practically abandoned her? Does Cuba still lead in health issues, Ms. Sottoli? Have you read the investigative report titled "Broken Births," which collects testimonies, statistics, and analyses from hundreds of women claiming to have been victims of obstetric violence in Cuba?

The list of problems facing the Cuban Public Health system is endless, but the Cuban government continues to export doctors en masse, while international organizations like UNFPA have staff who applaud the propagandistic discourse of a totalitarian regime that controls everything from statistics to narratives.

A regime adept at turning "working visits" into government-sponsored ceremonies adorned with myths and legends about a "utopia" supposedly realized by a so-called "revolution."