The evaluation of 36 community pharmacy projects and the work of solidarity medicine distribution networks show the alternatives Cuba is promoting to confront pharmaceutical shortages, aggravated by U.S. economic and financial restrictions.

The strategy combines the strengthening of the national health system, community participation, and new management modalities, under sanitary controls designed to protect the population.

The announcement, released by the Cuban News Agency (ACN) on September 9, 2026, confirms that the country seeks to expand access routes to medicines and health supplies without renouncing state regulation of an activity directly linked to human life.

According to Cristina Lara Bastanzuri, national director of Medicines and Medical Technologies of the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap), three of the proposals are in the process of being constituted and another 14 have the endorsement to continue the procedures. None had begun providing services to the public as of the report date.

The measure is inscribed in a complex reality: guaranteeing treatments for millions of Cubans when the lack of foreign currency, difficulties in importing raw materials, and transportation limitations compromise the production and distribution of medicines. Faced with that scenario, community pharmacies and the effort of health institutions constitute complementary expressions of the same national need: preserving access to health.

A Response Born in the Neighborhoods

In different Cuban communities, solidarity has become a concrete support for patients who need medicines and cannot find them in the usual establishments. Neighbors, volunteers, family members, and humanitarian organizations organize donations, identify needs, and coordinate deliveries, with special attention to the elderly, the chronically ill, and those who have difficulty moving around.

One of the experiences described by the international press is the project "La medicina no se vende" (Medicine Is Not for Sale), promoted by Laura Mendoza in Vedado, Havana. According to a report by The Associated Press, the initiative distributes free of charge medicines received through donations, travelers, and contributions from the population. The organization also maintains links with solidarity groups abroad and with Caritas.

The work of these networks transcends the delivery of a product. The identification of patients, communication through digital groups, and the transfer of medicines to homes or hospitals help connect individual needs with resources available in the community.

Where a treatment does not appear on the shelves, cooperation can help locate it and prevent a person from being left completely helpless.

These experiences do not replace the responsibilities of the health system nor do they by themselves resolve the national deficit. Their importance lies in the fact that they mobilize resources, promote mutual aid, and sustain social protection bonds in a particularly difficult period. They also highlight the value of popular participation, a practice rooted in Cuban society and coherent with the conception of health as a social right.

The Blockade and Its Effects on the Pharmaceutical Chain

The shortage of medicines cannot be analyzed apart from the economic conditions under which Cuba must produce, purchase, and distribute its health resources. The national pharmaceutical industry possesses productive and scientific capacities, but depends on external supplies to obtain raw materials, certain components, packaging materials, and indispensable technologies.

U.S. financial and commercial restrictions add obstacles to those operations. Difficulties in accessing certain banking services, processing international payments, and contracting transporters willing to assume the risks derived from sanctions can make Cuban purchases more expensive or delayed. The impact extends to third-country suppliers and to operations requiring financial or logistical intermediaries.

The report of the United Nations Secretary-General on the need to end the blockade, published in 2025, gathers information from governments and UN system agencies on its economic and social consequences.

The existence of legal exceptions for certain humanitarian sales or medical products does not eliminate all those obstacles. Financing conditions, payment procedures, transportation, and uncertainty about regulatory compliance can hinder operations that, under other circumstances, would be simpler.

Producing in Cuba, Even When Inputs Are Lacking

The Cuban biopharmaceutical industry is a strategic component of health sovereignty. Its development has made it possible to produce medicines and vaccines, sustain research, and create scientific capacities that distinguish the country within the region. However, the technical capacity of laboratories is not enough when the necessary components for completing manufacturing are lacking.

Dependence on imported raw materials turns financing and supply difficulties into a problem that runs through the entire productive chain. It is not only about having facilities or prepared professionals: pharmaceutical ingredients, reagents, packaging materials, and other inputs that must be acquired on the international market are also needed.

For that reason, the recovery of supply requires articulated action among the industry, importing entities, pharmaceutical services, and distribution structures. Each interruption has repercussions on final availability and can compromise treatments that need continuity, such as those for chronic, oncological, and other highly complex conditions.

The priority must be to protect essential medicines, ensure their distribution according to health needs, and prevent supply difficulties from translating into greater inequalities among territories and social groups. In that task, the experience accumulated by Cuban industry constitutes a strength, although its use also depends on resolving the material problems that limit its functioning.

New Forms of Management, with Sanitary Control

The incorporation of non-state modalities into pharmaceutical services constitutes another of the paths the country is examining to expand supply options. According to information published by ACN, the proposals under evaluation contemplate the administration of community pharmacies, the provision of pharmaceutical services, and the commercialization of medicines and health supplies.

The procedure establishes that applications must be channeled through Medicuba and Farmacuba, entities authorized for these operations. In turn, Emcomed will provide support to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in commercialization, storage, and transportation activities.

The opening, however, is not equivalent to liberalization without rules. Establishments must comply with established technical and sanitary requirements, while the commercialization of medicines will remain subject to current provisions. The purpose is to expand management and supply possibilities without losing sight of quality, safety, and the rational use of pharmaceutical products.

The regulatory framework must also be read together with Law 165 on Public Health and its regulations, published in the Official Gazette in January 2026, which ratify state responsibility in the organization of the health system and the population's access to health services.

The figure of 36 projects under evaluation reflects a process still in development, not an already operating private network. The three proposals in constitution and the 14 with endorsement to continue procedures represent different administrative stages; none of them should be confused with an open pharmacy dispensing medicines.

The challenge will be to ensure that the new modalities effectively contribute to supply, respect the required controls, and respond to patients' needs. The incorporation of other economic actors can provide resources and management capacity, but its impact will depend on the real availability of medicines, logistical organization, and access conditions for the population.

Access Must Remain the Priority

The availability of a medicine does not by itself guarantee that the patient can acquire it. When supply shifts toward informal circuits, prices can become an additional barrier for people who depend on limited salaries or pensions. Therefore, any expansion of commercialization routes must assess not only how many products reach the country but also who can access them and under what conditions.

Community networks that deliver donations free of charge offer a solidarity response to immediate needs. State pharmacies, for their part, continue to be an essential part of the health infrastructure. New forms of management must be integrated into that panorama with effective controls and a verifiable contribution to supply.

Pharmaceutical policy also needs to strengthen national production, diversify suppliers, improve acquisition mechanisms, and perfect territorial distribution. These are tasks that require resources and economic decisions, but also coordination among institutions, health workers, and communities.

Defending Health Requires Concrete Solutions

The effort of community pharmacies demonstrates that, even under adverse material conditions, collective organization can alleviate urgent needs. Each classified donation, each located treatment, and each delivery to a person who cannot travel represent tangible help for families.

The U.S. economic, commercial, and financial blockade constitutes an obstacle that Cuba has denounced for decades and whose effects reach sensitive sectors such as health. Its elimination would expand possibilities for exchange, financing, and acquisition of essential resources. While those restrictions persist, the country needs to defend its productive capacities, seek cooperation alternatives, and perfect distribution mechanisms.

The defense of the Revolution in the health sphere is expressed, above all, in the protection of life and in the will to sustain health as a right. For that principle to translate into daily results, community solidarity, institutional efficiency, and the recovery of supply must advance together, with the patient as the center of every decision. And of course, the illegal blockade imposed on the island must disappear forever.