A Cuban woman living in Italy shared a video showcasing the dinner served to her daughter at a public hospital in Italy, explicitly aimed at shaming Díaz-Canel and his administration.
The video, posted on Facebook by a user named Valeri Havana, quickly amassed over 73,900 views. In the footage, the woman highlights a tray filled with pasta in tomato sauce, a generous portion of chicken with mashed potatoes, a vegetable salad, individual packets of oil, salt, vinegar, and cheese, wrapped bread, fruit, and water, all presented in a clean and organized manner.
"This isn't anything extraordinary," she notes, emphasizing that it's just a regular hospital, "a simple clinic." Yet, the stark contrast with Cuba's hospital conditions is the core of her message.
What she emphasizes most is that the entire service was free: "For all this, we paid nothing, zero euros."
She contrasts this with the situation in the United States, where a similar hospital stay could incur a hefty bill.
"In Italy, you pay zero euros and look at the excellent treatment. The doctors and nurses are very attentive, everything perfect. Díaz-Canel, this is what it means to live normally as people, not like animals. And look, the room is impeccably clean, the bathrooms are spotless, water, disinfectants..."
Beyond the meal, she takes viewers on a tour of the room and bathrooms: "The room is perfectly clean, the bathrooms super clean, water, disinfectant, gloves. Why should I say more? Everything you need is here."
This video comes at a time when Cuba's healthcare system is undergoing its most severe crisis in decades. In February, the Public Health Minister, José Ángel Portal Miranda, admitted that the system was "on the brink of collapse," and in August, Díaz-Canel acknowledged the extent of the healthcare disaster.
The statistics are alarming: over 70% of essential medications are unavailable in state pharmacies, more than 96,000 surgeries are pending—including over 11,000 for children—and hospitals face power outages lasting up to 20 hours a day.
The food scarcity in Cuban hospitals is a well-documented issue. In August 2024, families at the Hospital Infantil Sur "La Colonia" in Santiago de Cuba reported dinners consisting of rice, two fritters, a piece of tuber, a slice of melon, and a piece of bread.
Two months later, the same city's Hospital Infantil Norte served hospitalized children plain rice, watery peas, and a piece of sweet potato.
In April of that year, pregnant women at the Hospital Materno Sur in Santiago described their meals as "pig food": hard-fried eggs, watery peas, and mashed plantains. One stated that she would immediately discard the food upon arrival, without tasting it.
The irony highlighted by Valeri Havana's video is especially poignant: Italy is one of the countries to which the Cuban regime exports doctors to support regional healthcare systems, while hospitals on the island operate under conditions likened by many to conflict zones.
As of July, Italy employed around 200 Cuban doctors, primarily in Calabria.
Understanding the Healthcare Disparities: Cuba vs. Italy
What was highlighted in the video about the hospital meal in Italy?
The video showcased a well-prepared hospital meal with pasta, chicken, vegetable salad, and more, emphasizing cleanliness and free healthcare.
How does healthcare in Italy compare with that in Cuba?
In Italy, healthcare services are provided for free with high standards, whereas Cuba faces severe shortages and poor conditions in hospitals.
What are the current challenges facing Cuba's healthcare system?
Cuba's healthcare system is struggling with a significant lack of medications, pending surgeries, and frequent power outages in hospitals.