The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Cuba will implement financing of more than 40 million euros to strengthen the island’s biopharmaceutical industry, according to official sources.
The purpose of the loan, signed by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and with a total value of 46.7 million euros, is to “improve the national response capacity against diseases such as COVID-19,” according to a dispatch from the Prensa Latina (PL) news agency.
The report, which cites a UNDP statement, points out that the implementation of the budget contemplates “the reinforcement of the infrastructure for the production of injectable antibiotics, parenteral solutions (serums), generic and biosimilar drugs, diagnostic kits and medical equipment.”
PNUD implementará el primer financiamiento subscrito por el @BCIE_Org para Cuba, con la ejecución del Proyecto de fortalecimiento de la industria #biofarmacéutica, destinado a mejorar la capacidad de respuesta nacional ante enfermedades como la COVID 19.
➕https://t.co/m98k8DQvfl pic.twitter.com/Qr9dyKNEj9— PNUD Cuba (@PNUDCuba) September 23, 2022
The note affirms that the financing will have an impact on “the treatment of people infected with COVID-19 and other communicable diseases, as well as the acquisition of health supplies and medical protection material to prevent contagion.”
“Through the strengthening of the pharmaceutical industry and the production of 200 million doses of vaccines, higher levels of economic productivity are expected to be achieved through the development of innovative medicines and the modernization of technology, which will contribute to diversification for the benefit of the national health system and of other countries in the region,” added the UNDP office on the island.
The entity assures that “it will carry out the acquisitions of the project in accordance with its acquisition policies and regulations,” while affirming that BioCubaFarma, in alliance with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX), the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) and the Ministry of Finance and Prices (MFP), will have “a key role” in the execution of the actions, which will be carried out in 10 of the enterprises of that state group.
For his part, Dante Mossi, executive president of CABEI, commented that the initiative is “a health support response to protect the lives of Cuban families by strengthening the health system,” said PL, whose report adds that this financial entity granted the loan under the specialized mechanism established for activities and operations with Cuba.
The agency recalls that the UNDP collaborates globally with a view to building resilience in the face of the multidimensional crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its Cuban chapter, this United Nations institution has supported “the implementation of donations to strengthen the production capacities of medicines, medical supplies and food, as part of the commitments of its Cooperation Framework with the country,” the note concluded.
