The United States’ blockade of Cuba impedes the Coronavirus vaccination – Telam

Oxfam, a non-governmental organization fighting poverty, presented a new report on Tuesday calling for the lifting of US sanctions imposed on Cuba, and warning of the impact of the blockade on the island on women and the fight against poverty. that.

Oxfam calls for the lifting of the US blockade. For more than a year, these sanctions have represented a real obstacle to the purchase of ventilators, face masks, diagnostic tools, reagents, vaccination injections and other materials needed to deal with Covid. -19 inchThe organization’s representative in Cuba, Elena Gentile, said in a statement.

Aade que Oxfam “Supports the campaign for a popular vaccine that is free and available as quickly as possible to everyone and everywhere.”

In this sense, it highlights that Cuba is developing five vaccine candidates of its own, two of which are in the final stages of clinical trials.

“However, By prohibiting trade and commercial transactions, the US embargo is delaying widespread vaccination on the island. “Cautious.

In its report released on Tuesday, the NGO explains how US policy prevents people from developing their capabilities and exercising their leadership to achieve their goals and fully exercise their rights, particularly affecting the most vulnerable.

In turn, it is reported that former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) imposed more than 240 penalties to tighten the financial blockade, “55 of which were applied in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“The blockade imposed on Cuba has achieved nothing throughout its decades of existence other than contributing to human suffering, especially the suffering of the island’s women,” Sputnik news agency quoted Jeff Thalie, head of the Washington Office for Latin American Affairs (WOLA), as saying in the introduction to the report.

According to the transcript, 78% of the women and girls living in Cuba were born under the pressure of the blockade of North America for nearly six decades.

He adds that the blockade also affects women in the public sphere, “Because their demands are not being met in the field of work and academia, and they struggle every day to make ends meet.”

Finally, Oxfam and WOLA call on the current Democratic President, Joe Biden, to normalize bilateral relations between the two countries, to reverse the measures taken by his predecessors, and to “work with Congress to permanently end the blockade.”