Cuba is making enormous efforts to save the lives of burned patients, especially children, whose treatment is highly expensive, because it requires state-of-the-art antibiotics and equipment, said a specialist in Havana.

Doctor Rosa María Pérez Aguilar, specialist in Plastic and Burned Surgery and head of the service at the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital, a reference center in reconstructive and aesthetic surgery throughout the country, explained that the acquisition of these means has been affected by the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States almost six decades ago.

The expert clarified that the burned patient requires intensive therapy, resuscitation, antibiotics, equipment to remove the skin, dermo-expander sheets and others that cannot be obtained in the northern nation or companies where that genocidal policy prevents trade with Cuba.

She noted that those affected by burns acquire polymicrobial and multiresistant infections and the embargo also limits the obtaining of skin substitutes, elastic bandage, surgical instruments and nutrients, among others;whose acquisitionhas been greatly damaged and expensive since it has been necessary to resort to far countries.

The embargo was always hard, but the recrudescence of this genocidal policy means that Cuba has to expend more resources to pay for a product that could cost less if it were obtained in the United States, stressed the specialist in Caumatology.

Doctor Sandra Valdés Marín, specialist in Plastic Surgery and Caumatology of "Juan Manuel Márquez", noted that the needs of a burned patient cannot be assumed by any country due to its high cost, and exemplified that in Yemen, Angola, and other nations, this is a doomed person.

However, despite the high cost of this treatment, Cuba provides it totally free of charge to anyone in need and in the midst of shortages it guarantees everything for its care.

From April 2017 to March 2018, the damage caused by theembargo to Cuba amount to 4 321 million, and in almost six decades of this hostile policy its impact is 134 499 million dollars, according to the Resolutionproject proposed by Cuba to the General Assembly of the United Nations on the need to end the embargo, which will be taking to vote on October 31st.