COVID-19 and recovery of health services, premises in 2022 and goals for 2023 in Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 26 (ACN) After hard months of confronting COVID-19, in 2022 the National Health System (SNS by its Spanish acronym) was engaged in maintaining the control of the pandemic in Cuba and in the recovery of health activities, diminished as a result of the disease.

In spite of the difficulties in the supply of medicines and the limitations of resources, this year services with accumulated demand were resumed, specialty consultations were increased, the attention to patients waiting for surgeries was raised, and priority was given to the insurance of the mother-child program and treatments for chronic non-communicable diseases.

The economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the government of the United States, which has tightened in recent times, the siege to the main activities of the country, the financial persecution, together with the effects caused by COVID-19, had a strong repercussion on the economy, being the health sector one of the most affected.

In the year to conclude, the nation also carried out intense campaigns against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, attention to patients with dengue and surveillance and monitoring of diseases such as smallpox and severe acute hepatitis of unknown cause in children.

In the face of two terrible disasters: the explosion at the Saratoga Hotel and the fire at the Supertanker Base in Matanzas, the health personnel carried out meritorious work to save the lives of the injured people, as well as to help the population affected by hurricane Ian.

Science and research activities ended with the 4th Cuba-Health 2022 International Convention, from October 17 to 21, and the development of scientific events such as the 4th Symposium on Cardio-Oncology, the 9th International Conference on Health Psychology and the congresses on Bioenergetic and Naturalistic Medicine; Nursing; Oncology; Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery; and Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Pain, among others.

Regarding anti-COVID-19 immunization, this year the research "Vaccination against COVID-19 in Cuba: a successful experience of innovative strategy in health" deserved the Annual Health Grand Prize, the highest recognition granted by the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) to the most relevant scientific results in that field.

Likewise, Cuban vaccines against the disease proved to be safe and effective, they have been granted Emergency Use Authorization in eight countries, more than 20 scientific articles have been published in high-impact journals and the evaluation process by the World Health Organization is expected to be completed by 2023, said Eduardo Martinez Diaz, president of the BioCubaFarma Business Group, in a recent statement.

 For next year, the health system's premise is to maintain control of COVID-19 and prioritize the allocation of financing for medicines, supplies, spare parts and reagents, based on the income generated and the budget allocated by the State.

Likewise, MINSAP will submit the draft Public Health Law to the National Assembly of People's Power, so that from January to March the draft law will be published, the temporary group will tour the provinces to hold sessions with workers in the sector, deputies and the population in general, specialized consultations will be held and a communication campaign will be developed. 

The regulation ratifies public health as a right of the people, defends the constitutional guarantees of the people and introduces ethics and values as part of the training and practice of the profession; it also incorporates the concepts of One Health and the relationship between man and the environment, addresses the integration of multidisciplines and contains postulates of international treaties ratified by Cuba.