In recent weeks we have heard some information in the United States media about the possibility of selling medicines produced in Cuba in that country, particularly Heberprot-P, a drug for the treatment of diabetic foot. On the other hand, the Cuban authorities continue to express themselves about the obstacles facing them in buying certain medications and medical instruments produced in the US, due to the restrictions occasioned by the politics of the US embargo on the island.
There are different opinions about this issue, both for and against, dismissing the urgencies of those priorities which should be considered: the diabetics in the United States who could be treated with Heberprot-P avoiding, in some cases, dangerous amputations of their extremities, and of patients in Cuba who can’t access treatments to cure them or to improve their quality of life because some medications and specialized instruments produced in the U.S. can not be purchased by Cuba.
Faced with any discussion on this issue, it is important to take into account Articles 12 and 15 of the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the “Declaration on the Use of Scientific and Technological Progress in the Interests of Peace and for the benefit of humanity,” among other things.
For all these reasons, the undersigned, Cubans and Cuban Americans, members of independent civil society and citizens in general, affirm our determination to support, from a vision of respect for human rights, the possible analysis that would permit the expansion of everything related to scientific exchanges in the areas of drug development and medical techniques. Also, the marketing of medicines and specialized instruments for these purposes, in order to meet the medical care needs of people who need to be treated in both countries.
Julio Aleaga Pesant — Indepedent Journalist
Hildebrando Chaviano Montes — Indepedent Journalist
Manuel Cuesta Morúa — Progressive Arc
Siro del Castillo Domínguez — Solidarity with Cuban Workers
Gisela Delgado Sablón — Independent Libraries
Eduardo Díaz Fleitas — Pinar del Rio Democratic Alliance
Reinaldo Escobar Casas — Indepedent Journalist
René Hernández Bequet — Cuban Christian Democratic Party
Rafael León Rodríguez — Cuba Democracy Project
Susana Más Iglesias — Indepedent Journalist
Eduardo Mesa — Emmanuel Mounier Center
Marcelino Miyares Sotolongo — Cuban Christian Democratic Party
Héctor Palacios Ruiz — Liberal Union of the Republic of Cuba
Oscar Peña — Cuban Pro Human Rights Movement
Pedro Pérez Castro — Solidarity with Cuban Workers
Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado — Cuba Democracy Project
Wilfredo Vallín Almeida — Cuban Law Association
21 November 2013
