The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Cuba will process a financing of 46.7 million euros with the aim of strengthening the country’s biopharmaceutical industry, the entity reported this Friday in a statement.
The loan, signed by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), is intended for a project to improve the national response capacity against diseases such as Covid-19.
The execution of the budget contemplates the reinforcement of the infrastructure for the production of injectable antibiotics, parenteral solutions (serums), generic and biosimilar drugs, diagnosticians and medical equipment, the statement detailed.
Likewise, the entity highlighted that the financing will impact 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.
The UNDP office in the Caribbean nation stressed that the strengthening of the pharmaceutical industry and the production of 200 million doses of vaccines will contribute to reaching higher levels of economic productivity.
A scenario to which the development of innovative medicines and the modernization of technology will also contribute, with a view to diversification for the benefit of the Cuban national health system and other countries in the region, the institution stressed.
The executive president of CABEI, Dante Mossi, said that the initiative constitutes a health support response to protect the lives of Cuban families by strengthening the health system.
The financial entity, the text referred, granted the loan under the specialized mechanism established by that integrationist entity for activities and operations with Cuba.
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, the United Nations institution supports 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 this nation.
(With information from PL)