August 8, 2021

17:08

Déborah Arruda – from Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – Facing its worst moment in the Covid-19 pandemic, Cuba suffers from the lack of basic supplies to ensure vaccination, such as syringes. There are more than 449,000 registered cases in the country until this Sunday, 8, and about 3,350 deaths from the disease. In an attempt to guarantee the immunization of more residents of the island, the Brazil-Cuba Business Chamber has started a project to raise funds, with the aim of acquiring one million syringes.

In its 3rd edition last year in Brazil, the initiative is carried out with the support of the Brazilian Movement of Solidarity with Cuba and has caught the attention of several Cubans living in Brazilian soil, such as professors Zochil Gonzalez and Luiz Mariano Carvalho. Luiz told CENARIUM that solidarity is natural to the Cuban people and that the expectation is that by the end of this campaign, at the end of August, they will have enough money to buy one million syringes.

“There is a natural solidarity with the Cuban people because of the American block. It is easy to collect donations. The Brazilian traditional media repasses, in most cases, news from a few international agencies. In general, this information is biased and full of prejudice. To have information about the Cuban reality it is necessary to consult alternative media or the Cuban press itself,” he said.

Gonzalez said that a kind of chain was formed, to ensure that the necessary aid would arrive in the country. “I am Cuban, initially one of them, who is a friend and colleague, came to me and they started looking for a way to get aid to Cuba. This action came out of the intention to help the people of Cuba in some way at this time. One important thing in Havana is that they have managed to vaccinate a lot, which greatly reduces the severity,” he said.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, in many regions the country has managed to control the number of cases. But the scenario is no longer the same. Today, Cuba is the place with the highest number of infections per percentage of the population in the whole continent.

About the action

As published, for every R$ 12 collected, 100 syringes will be guaranteed to enable the immunization of the island’s inhabitants. Until the 30th of this month, those interested can make a transfer of any amount to the account of the Brazil-Cuba Business Chamber, with a suggested amount of R$ 100. The entity asks that, in order to identify the donation, the desired amount plus R$ 0.21 be sent. The delivery of the syringes is planned until November 2021.

For donations:

BRAZIL-CUBA BUSINESS CHAMBER

CNPJ 34.131.511/0001-64

Bank of Brazil 001 Branch: 4770-8 Bank Account: 13.844-4

PIX 34.131.511/0001-64

U.S. Sanctions

The country is developing five vaccines against Covid: Soberana 1, Soberana 2, Soberana Plus, Abdala and Mambisa. However, the economic blocks imposed by the United States of America (USA) make it difficult to immunize the Cuban population of more than 11.3 million people. With the sanctions, which have been in place since the time of John F. Kennedy in 1962, Cuba suffers import restrictions. In 2019, Donald Trump strengthened sanctions and repositioned the socialist country on the list of those who support terrorism. Now, Joe Biden has also increased sanctions, further undermining the guarantee of basic conditions in tackling the pandemic.

2019 data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Economic Complexity Observatory shows that Cuba trades with other countries around the world. China is one of the top destinations for Cuban exports, coming in at 38.2%. Next is Spain, with 10.5%, the Netherlands with 5.44%, Germany, with a total of 5.37%, and Cyprus, with 4.05%.

The island keeps up with imports mainly from Spain and China, which together amount to more than 34%. Also on the list are Italy, Canada, and Russia. Among the most exported products are tobacco, sugar, alcoholic beverages, nickel, and zinc. Imports include chicken meat, wheat, corn, and concentrated milk.