Finn Right International has issued an urgent humanitarian alert calling on the United States to immediately lift economic sanctions on Cuba.
The organization states that these measures are directly causing preventable child deaths through fuel shortages and the unavailability of essential medical supplies.
The report is addressed to the U.S. government, the international community, and global humanitarian bodies.
Background: Six Decades of Economic Embargo
Cuba has lived under U.S. economic restrictions for more than six decades, with the embargo first taking effect in 1962.
Sanctions were significantly expanded during the Trump administration between 2017 and 2021 and have largely remained in place under subsequent administrations.
These measures restrict Cuba’s access to international banking, fuel imports, and medical supplies including life-saving drugs, surgical equipment, and pediatric medicines.
Finn Right International states that while the stated U.S. objective is to pressure the Cuban government, the burden falls overwhelmingly on ordinary citizens, particularly children, the elderly, and the chronically ill.
Finding One: Acute Fuel Shortages Disrupting Hospitals
U.S.-imposed restrictions have choked Cuba’s fuel supply lines, pushing the country’s healthcare infrastructure to a breaking point.
Hospital generators are frequently failing, causing blackouts in pediatric intensive care units.
This disrupts ventilators, incubators, and dialysis machines. Refrigerated supply chains have also broken down, meaning vaccines, insulin, and antibiotics are spoiling before reaching children in rural areas.
Ambulance services have been critically delayed, and Finn Right International reports that multiple preventable child deaths have resulted from delays in transporting critically ill patients to specialized hospitals.
Finding Two: Medical Supplies Blocked by Banking Restrictions
Even when Cuba secures financing for medicines, U.S. embargo rules block transactions through U.S.-controlled banks.
This has created acute shortages of chemotherapy drugs for pediatric cancer patients, antibiotics for neonatal sepsis, surgical sutures, anesthesia equipment, and spare parts for ventilators.
Finn Right International states it has received verified reports from medical personnel inside Cuba indicating that at least 12 children under the age of five died between January and May 2026 directly due to these shortages.
The organization believes this figure is a significant undercount due to reporting constraints within the country.
Documented Case: Six-Year-Old Girl Dies After Chemotherapy Spoils
In April 2026, a six-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia was admitted to Pediatric Hospital Juan Manuel Márquez in Havana following a relapse.
The required chemotherapy drug, vincristine, was physically present in the hospital warehouse.
However, spare parts needed to repair the hospital’s generator parts blocked by sanctions could not be obtained. During a 72-hour power blackout, the drug spoiled.
The child died on April 23, 2026. Hospital staff described this as one of many similar cases.
Finding Three: Indirect Deaths From Water and Food Shortages
Fuel shortages have reduced the functioning of water pumping stations, limiting access to clean water across parts of Cuba.
This has contributed to rising rates of diarrheal diseases and malnutrition among children.
Finn Right International notes that these conditions become fatal when hospitals lack the power and supplies needed to treat them, creating a compounding cycle of preventable mortality.
Legal Violations: International Human Rights Law
Finn Right International identifies multiple violations of international legal instruments to which the United States is a party or has formally endorsed.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 24, guarantees every child the highest attainable standard of health. The Geneva Conventions prohibit measures causing disproportionate harm to civilians.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 12, establishes the right to health and prohibits interference with access to medicines.
The organization further notes that while the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control provides some licensing for medical exports, banking and shipping restrictions make these exemptions practically impossible to use.
Finn Right International’s Four Demands
The organization has issued four formal demands to the U.S. government and international bodies.
First, it calls for the immediate lifting of all sanctions restricting the import of food, medicine, medical devices, and fuel for civilian use.
Second, it demands the restoration of normal banking channels for Cuba to purchase humanitarian goods.
Third, it requests a temporary, monitored exemption specifically for pediatric and neonatal care as an emergency measure.
Fourth, it calls for an independent humanitarian assessment by the United Nations or the Red Cross to quantify preventable child deaths attributable to the sanctions.
Conclusion
Finn Right International states that the situation in Cuba has moved beyond economic pressure and now constitutes a humanitarian emergency with direct and documented consequences for children’s lives.
The organization holds the United States legally responsible under international human rights law for the foreseeable consequences of its sanctions policy.
It calls on the U.S. Both the White House and U.S. lawmakers are being urged to take immediate and concrete steps to address the crisis.
Prepared by: Hammad Kahlun, Director of Humanitarian Advocacy, Finn Right International, Pori, Finland
