Turn---US embargo has severely damaged Cuban health and the health care system

lack of access to supplies

Amnesty International, 2009
(The US Embargo Against Cuba, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/007/2009/en/51469f8b-73f8-47a2-a5bd-
f839adf50488/amr250072009eng.pdf)//SY

The negative impact of the US embargo on the Cuban health care system and on the right to health of
Cubans during the 1990s has been documented in a 1997 report by the American Association for World
Health (AAWH).45 The 300-page document is still the most comprehensive study on the issue. Based on a fact-finding mission
to Cuba, the AAWH identified that the embargo contributed particularly to malnutrition affecting
especially women and children, poor water quality, lack of access to medicines and medical supplies, and
limited the exchange of medical and scientific information due to travel restrictions and currency
regulations. The AAWH found that a humanitarian catastrophe has been averted only because the Cuban
government has maintained a high level of budgetary support for a health care system designed to deliver primary and
preventive health care to all of its citizens Even so, the U.S. embargo of food and the de facto embargo on
medical supplies has wreaked havoc with the island's model primary health care system.4

Cuban health care fails now due to lack of supplies and equipment
Hanna Plant, 2013 MA in Sustainable Development, University of St. Andrews (Hanna, The
Challenges of Health Care in Cuba, Global Politics, http://www.global-politics.co.uk/issue9/hanna/)//SY

However, challenges remain. Healthcare may be free and available for all Cuban citizens but medication is
not. Pharmacies are often very poorly stocked and rationing of supplies is minimal. 13 There are claims that
hospitals are often in poor conditions and doctors have to bring in their own supplies and equipment to
allow them to treat their patients. 10 Despite the production of medical supplies and technology, it seems very
little of this actually remains in Cuba. Every year Cuba exports huge amounts of medical aid, mostly to other Latin
American countries for purely financial returns. 22 For example, Venezuela provides much-needed oil to Cuba and in exchange receives
Cuban doctors and medical supplies. 14 Cubas dual economy has a lot to do with why such disparity exists.
Medication and equipment is there and available but only to pay for in American dollars, of which the
poor and middle classes of Cuba are very unlikely to have. 23 The pesos pharmacies and local state hospitals are
drastically under-stocked and thus access for the poor to needed medication is minimal, despite the service
being free.

Turn---Cuban health care and biotech currently fail due to lack of resources and
knowledge flow easing the embargo key to scientific growth
Uyen Quach, et al. 2004
Adjunct Professor, Global Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health (Halla Thorsteinsdttir, Tirso W Senz, Abdallah S Daar, and Peter A Singer,
Cuba innovation through synergy, Nature Biotechnology, Volume 22, December, http://www.sld.cu/galerias/pdf/cuba-
innovation_through_synergy.pdf)//SY

Lack of funding and the US trade embargo. Despite strong government commitment, Cubas health biotechnology sector faces
a lack of financial resources. The economic conditions in Cuba are problematic, and the government does
not have an impressive track record of building a strong and diversified economy7 . Limited access to
international credit has made it harder for the country to engage in ambitious restructuring schemes,
such as those taking place in Eastern Europe, and Cuba continues to struggle to pay off its debt. The US trade embargo has
limited the economic options for Cuba, including development of the health biotechnology sector. For example, Cuba
is forced to import research equipment from countries other than the United Statesa situation that not
only consumes time but adds to the cost. Another challenge imposed by the poor Cuba-US relations is the
increasing difficulty that Cuban scientists face obtaining visas to enter the United States to attend
conferences and other related activities. Also, even though the US Treasury Department has as of April 2004 officially
permitted papers from embargoed countries to be edited and published in US journals, the uncertainties of
the embargo have made it difficult for Cuban papers to be accepted in US journals8 . The embargo therefore restricts the
knowledge flow involving Cuban scientists in the international scientific community and adds costs, because Cubans have
to attend conferences that are held in countries other than the United States. Another challenge is the dominance
of US firms in the global health biotechnology sector. This may limit the options for Cuba in developing
joint ventures, strategic alliances and licensing of their technologies.