The collapse is due to the lack of transportation to bring drugs from Havana, explains a Health sector official.
14ymedio, Matanzas, Pablo Padilla Cruz, March 28, 2026 – In the city of Matanzas, a panorama of shortages has become the norm for residents who depend on public pharmacies. Empty shelves, widespread confusion, and endless lines to obtain medicines have marked the reality of many citizens, especially the most vulnerable: the elderly and patients with chronic illnesses.
The day when the arrival of some medication is announced, especially those that require a card, becomes a kind of hope. However, that hope rarely materializes with certainty. Arrivals are sporadic and, generally, it is not known exactly which medications will be available. “It is almost always one Tuesday a month, but it is also almost never known what they will send.” That day, from dawn, patients, mostly elderly, stand in long lines at pharmacies to try to pick up the pills that will relieve their ailments. However, the arrival of medications seems increasingly uncertain.
The situation has gone beyond a recurring shortage crisis. This time, the message spreading by word of mouth among residents of Matanzas is even more alarming: “The pharmacies in Matanzas are going to close permanently.” Although the rumor is widespread, the truth behind this statement remains uncertain, although health workers do not rule out the possibility.
“We are considering that we may be left without medications and for that reason, interrupted,” stated a pharmaceutical technician at the pharmacy located on Ayuntamiento Street. Surrounded by empty shelves, she explained that although some medications do arrive at times, these are insufficient. In some cases, medications arrive for patients with cards, such as enalapril for blood pressure, metformin for diabetics, or to a lesser extent, insulin. However, the levels of shortage are so high that patients are often sent back home without being able to obtain what they need.
An official from the provincial directorate of the health branch provides more details about the crisis. “In the province there is a shortage of almost 90% of medications in general,” she explains. This collapse is worsened by the lack of transportation, which prevents medications from reaching pharmacies in a timely manner. “Medications must be transported from Havana to the Medicuba warehouses in the industrial zone of Matanzas, and from there to the pharmacies, but currently this logistical movement is almost paralyzed,” the official notes.
As a result, measures such as the permanent closure of several pharmacies are being considered, leaving only a few open to distribute medications on a rotating basis among neighborhoods. In addition, some have reduced their service hours until 2 pm due to the lack of essential products.
The shortage has also affected specific medications such as insulin, which requires special storage conditions. Frequent blackouts worsen the situation, as they prevent pharmacies from maintaining supplies under proper conditions, further limiting their availability.
In this context of scarcity, residents of Matanzas are forced to resort to other alternatives to obtain the medications they need. Some choose to contact relatives abroad, while others turn to the black market or online pharmacies, which offer imported medications at prices ranging from 500 to 5,000 pesos, depending on the type of drug. However, as Pastrana, a pensioner who must take enalapril twice a day, explains, his monthly pension of 3,106 pesos is barely enough to cover his basic needs, much less to buy imported medications. “The pension doesn’t even cover rice, what am I going to do with medicines from abroad?” he laments.
The situation not only affects medications; medical supplies also suffer from the same problem. At the Ensume warehouse, which distributes and stores medical supplies for the entire province, the shortage of inputs is critical. An employee of the institution comments that they are currently receiving less than 30% of the materials necessary for their operation. “Ten years ago, we received supplies even at night, even on weekends. Now, we have nothing to do at 2 pm,” he recounts. According to him, hospitals sometimes have to divert ambulances to collect supplies, and sending them to places as distant as Cayo Ramona, in Ciénaga de Zapata, becomes a titanic undertaking.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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