With so many chronic patients without an official supply, the demand for oxygen in informal trading networks has also skyrocketed.
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 21 February 2025 — Technical problems at Cuba’s main plant for producing medicinal oxygen have been prolonged and are threatening thousands of patients. Until a few weeks ago, the main problem was with chronically ill patients who needed oxygen at home. Now, the shortage has spread to polyclinics and hospitals, according to several testimonies compiled by 14ymedio.
At the Angel Machaco Ameijeiras polyclinic in Guanabacoa, Havana, on Friday there was only one oxygen tank, and the line of patients, referred from other hospitals, was long. “I brought my son with severe shortness of breath and although children have priority, they couldn’t treat him because there is no mouthpiece,” the boy’s mother explained to this newspaper. “What was left of the tank wasn’t enough for even four more people, the nurse told me, and there were three times that many waiting.”
The woman decided to travel to other municipalities, but in several clinics she found the same answer: “There are none.” Finally, they recommended that she go to a care center in the municipality of Cotorro where they recently received a donation of an oxygen concentrator. “They were only providing service to children because they say they cannot cover all the adult patients who arrive.”
“The remaining supply was not enough for four more people, the nurse told me, and there were three times that number waiting.”
The OxiCuba SA plant, located in the municipality of Cotorro, has barely produced anything since last December, plagued by technical problems and a lack of investment. From this plant, the gas is sent to different destinations, especially to the Guanabacoa industrial plant where it is bottled and distributed to patients who need it. The plant’s service phone has not answered customer calls for days.
At the Reinaldo Pi Mirabal polyclinic in San Miguel del Padrón, oxygen has also been restricted to child patients only this week. The same is happening at the Mario Escalona polyclinic in Habana del Este and others located in more central municipalities. The problem is also affecting hospitals where the restrictions affect those admitted.
“In January they warned that the factory that fills the tanks in Guanabacoa was broken,” says the companion of a patient who has been admitted for weeks at the Dr. Miguel Enríquez Hospital, La Benéfica. “The little that has arrived is reserved for those who are more seriously ill, but I have seen people have tremendous scares, because they start to run out of air at night and there is nothing for all this.”
Even the health centres in El Vedado are not spared from the debacle. This Tuesday at the Borrás-Marfan Pediatric Hospital on Calle 17, there was only one oxygen tank left and the line to use it could take up to three hours. “All the others were empty,” complains Niurka, 41 years old and mother of a chronic asthmatic daughter. The woman, who also suffers from the disease, says that last weekend she had an attack and went to the Emergency Corps at Calixto García.
“There was no oxygen at all. The doctor who treated me, a foreign student, told me that many surgeries were paralyzed because there is not even enough to give to patients in the operating rooms.” Until a few months ago, Niurka had to carry salbutamol, bought on the black market, to be able to apply sprays that help her get through the crisis. “Now it seems that we will have to carry the oxygen and later even the chair to sit on.”
“There was no oxygen, the doctor who treated me, a foreign student, told me that many surgeries were paralyzed because there is not even enough to give to patients in the operating rooms.”
Antonio Quintana Bonachea, a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and resident of the municipality of Cotorro, has not received a new oxygen cylinder since last December. Tired of calling the service number demanding a response, he has had to ask for help from his followers on the Facebook page where he talks and discusses life in Cuba.
“Fortunately, an exiled follower found out about my need and sent me an oxygen concentrator that his late mother used. I just received it and I am looking for information on how to use it correctly. It is a help that I am very grateful for due to the instability of the service,” he tells this newspaper.
With so many chronic patients without an official supply, the demand for oxygen in informal trading networks has also skyrocketed. In just a few weeks, prices have gone up. “I’m selling a large oxygen tank, full and with all the accessories for 50,000 pesos,” reads one of the many Facebook groups for buying and selling in Havana. After a few minutes, the ad had accumulated a dozen messages asking for information to search for the product. “Sold, I don’t have any more,” the seller posted shortly after.
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