Cuban women bear brunt of intensified U.S. blockade, facing health and energy crisis

Cuba announced at the UN that the United States has tightened its embargo, adding a total energy cutoff and military threats. The Cuban foreign minister called the measures a collective punishment and a crime against humanity. The blockade is estimated to have caused over $8 billion in economic damage in the past year, raising infant mortality from 4.0 to 9.9 per 1,000 live births and reducing childhood cancer survival from 85 % to 65 %. More than 100,000 patients, including 12,000 children, await surgeries that cannot be performed because of electricity shortages. Roughly three million Cubans need assistance that cannot be delivered due to fuel shortages. Women, who already head half of households, now shoulder an average of 35 hours of unpaid domestic and care work each week, managing food preservation, cooking and caregiving without reliable power. They report heightened mental‑health strain and increased exposure to structural gender‑based violence as the crisis deepens.