The blockade has an impact on Cuba day-to-day

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 20 (ACN) The 63-year-old U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade makes it hard for the Cubans to enjoy a decent way of life and the universal rights to proper food, health and education, which is why civil society demands its end every year in international forums.

As a researcher with the National Institute of Oncology and Radiology, Dr. Lorenzo Anasagasti recently described the effects of this policy on health care from the viewpoints of scientific exchange, teaching and the purchase of innovative medicines, since Cuba is banned from any international clinical trial in the U.S. or attended by that country, not to mention that anti-cancer drugs and equipment become more expensive and take a longer time to arrive in the Island because they have to be brought from more distant countries—to the point that sometimes, by the time they arrive, it is too late for the target patients—or that even the U.S. citizens are unable to use effectively tried-and-tested Cuban medicines because of those restrictions.

Likewise, food has become a major concern among Cuban families because the Cuban government cannot import from a nearby market such as the U.S. and is forced instead to turn to Europe or Asia, and at a much higher price.

The limited measures announced in May by the U.S. State Department—including the resumption of flights and consular services and setting a higher ceiling on remittances—are but a tiny nick on the fabric of this decades-old policy.

The blockade is real, and it tampers with the daily life of the Cubans who, despite many years of hardship, have proved that it is possible to keep moving forward regardless of the obstacles imposed by a country that tries to isolate and suffocate us just because we chose to think differently.