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WHO Sounds Alarm as Cuba’s Health System Buckles in Fuel-Driven Blackouts

A collapse in fuel imports since January has left hospitals with failing power, scarce supplies, rising backlogs.

Overview

  • The WHO chief, who issued a warning Wednesday, said hospitals are struggling to keep emergency and intensive care running and that thousands of surgeries have been postponed.
  • Rolling outages have spread nationwide this week after repeated grid failures, with reports of two full blackouts last week that forced hospitals onto generators.
  • At Havana’s William Soler pediatric heart hospital, doctors say they are triaging care, postponing operations for stable patients and conserving limited equipment and medicines.
  • The UN’s humanitarian office updated a $94 million plan to support about two million people, but only $26 million is funded and access to fuel remains a critical hurdle for delivery.
  • An international convoy delivered roughly 50 tonnes of medical and relief supplies to hospitals this week as U.S. measures that deter fuel shipments sharply reduced imports to the island.