Cuba's 2026 Healthcare Shortages Leave Patients Waiting

In Havana, shortages of basic medical supplies such as hypodermic needles and antibiotics have become routine in 2026. Obtaining these items often requires family connections abroad or purchases on an informal market, leaving many patients dependent on unreliable transport options. Electric tricycles crowded with recently discharged patients, exhausted nurses, and family members dominate the streets, while deteriorated buses and taxis charge high fares that many cannot afford.

The city's health facilities, including Hospital Pando Ferrer, a local policlinic and the Maternidad Obrera, are overwhelmed by long queues and frequent power outages. Residents report theft of personal items in clinics, and even basic services such as bank branches are plagued by lines that spill onto sidewalks. The chronic lack of essential medicines and the breakdown of public services have turned waiting into a daily reality for Cubans.