The “top 100” list includes sites spread across 56 countries. Its publication begins an effort to designate geological sites around the world that are iconic and recognized by the entire geoscientific community by virtue of their impact on the understanding of the planet and its history.

The IUGS Executive Committee has endorsed these 100 sites as “the first and inspiring steps towards a broader program that will recognize those geosites with the highest scientific importance in the world.”

In the certificate of the International Union of Geological Sciences that includes the terraces of Maisí in the list of The First 100 Geological Heritage Sites of the IUGS, it is read that:

“An IUGS Geological Heritage Site is a key location with geological features and/or processes of international scientific relevance, used as a reference, and/or with a substantial contribution to the development of geological sciences throughout history.”

More than 200 specialists from almost 40 nations and 10 international organizations, representing different disciplines of Earth sciences, have participated in the selection.

As part of the process, 181 candidate sites in 56 countries were proposed, then evaluated by 33 international experts who defined the IUGS Top 100 Geological Heritage Sites list.

On the IUGS website, the Maisí terraces are presented as “one of the best preserved sequences of elevated marine and coral terraces in the world due to the interaction of the global sea level and tectonics.”

It is considered that they are “an important source of information to reveal the tectonics of the Greater Antilles within the Caribbean geological domain during the Quaternary period (…) The marine terraces in Cuba can be correlated with global changes in sea level in the Quaternary.

“In addition to being in an area regularly hit by hurricanes, this area is important for studying wave energy during those weather events.”

The Maisí terraces share space on the world list with iconic places such as the Grand Canyon or the Yellowstone volcanic and hydrothermal system (USA), the Perito Moreno glacier (Argentina), the Iguazú falls (Argentina-Brazil), Torres del Paine (Chile), the caldera of Santorini (Greece), the inselberg or mount island Mount Uluru (Australia), the sea of ​​sand in the Namib desert (Namibia), the Victoria Falls (Zambia-Zimbabwe) or the Shilin Stone Forest (China).

There are also sites with some of the oldest rocks on Earth (South Africa), traces of primitive life from Australia and China, some of the best dinosaur fossil remains from Canada, the earliest evidence of early hominin development from Tanzania and the sea rocks of the top of the world (Mount Everest).

IUGS Top 100 Geological Heritage Sites List:

Interglacial coralline and raised marine terraces of the Quaternary of Maisí

Geological period:

Quaternary

Main geological interest:

Geomorphology and active geological processes

Stratigraphy and sedimentology

Location:

Punta de Maisi, Guantanamo province, Cuba

20° 08′ 10” N, 074° 13′ 59” W

In a note signed by the Geology Directorate of the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Institute of Geology and Paleontology of Cuba, it is highlighted that “the recognition of the IUGS gives visibility to these sites, identifies them as of maximum scientific value.

“These are sites that served to develop the science of geology, especially its early history. They are the world’s best demonstrations of geological features and processes. They are the places of fabulous discoveries of the Earth and its history”.

It is also recalled that the scientific community has long called for the establishment of a world program with global standards for the recognition of sites of great international importance.

“The IUGS Geological Heritage Sites project, approved by IUGS and UNESCO, has created the right conditions for collaboration towards this great milestone, which will inspire the work of this ambitious program in the near future.”

They also point out that many of the “top 100″ are well protected in national parks, geoparks, geosites and nature reserves, “but many are not.”

They add that “recognition and visibility of the IUGS Top 100 Geological Heritage Sites can lead to their increased appreciation, their use as educational resources and, most importantly, their preservation.”

On the left, shaded relief superimposed on a satellite image showing the terraces. On the right, topographic profile showing the inner edge of each terrace level in the Maisí area. Image: IUGS.

Currently, Maisí is a protected natural area. In the future, considering its internationally recognized geological value, it could become a geopark, as part of a process that began in 2021 with the Viñales Geopark.

According to specialists, due to its remarkable geological diversity, there is potential in Cuba for the creation of around 20 geoparks.

According to reports from the Minem Geology Directorate, in the first quarter of 2023 the geological-morphological study will be completed to assess the creation of a geopark in La Gran Piedra (Santiago de Cuba). Likewise, next year a similar study will begin in the Sierra de Cubitas (Camagüey).

Another study, with a start date in the last quarter of 2022, will have the same objective in the Guamuhaya massif, in the center of the Island.

The International Union of Geological Sciences is one of the largest scientific organizations in the world, with 121 national members, including Cuba, bringing together more than a million geoscientists.

Some information about the terraces of Maisí:

-The marine and coral terraces are formed by coral limestones with abundant fossil remains, ranging from the Upper Pleistocene Jaimanitas formation (marine isotope stage 5e, 122 ± 6,000 years. In short: about 122,000 years) and older units within the Pleistocene.

-Some 28 levels of terraces are observed, with an elevation of up to 560 m.

-Most of the terraces are very well preserved. Fossil tidal niches, caverns, and other karst features are found. These represent approximately two million years’ worth of sea level fluctuations.

-The zone is tectonically linked to the Oriente transform fault zone in eastern Cuba, which is the boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates, where block uplifts of 0.33 mm/year are recorded.

-Geomorphologically, the area is a large ring about 75 km long that covers the eastern coastal zone of Cuba like a ladder that is narrow to the north and south, and wider in the eastern corner. The steps are cut by rivers that form gorges with large transverse outcrops. Due to tilting and folding, the same step changes altitude along the coast. The lower terrace has blocks overturned from the sea by hurricanes and features of landslides such as crowns are observed.

-This area of ​​Maisí, like other marine terraces on the coast of Cuba, is part of an international collaboration research project between the Institute of Geology and Paleontology (IGP) of Cuba and several French universities. Researchers take coral samples and carry out measurements in the field and analyzes in laboratories to determine in greater detail how and when the marine terraces of the archipelago formed.

(By: Deny Extremera San Martin/Cubadebate)

Caffeine, the same stimulant that helps millions of people start their day, also saves lives in hospitals. If a premature baby is unable to breathe at birth, called primary apnea, caffeine citrate gets its immature lungs going. It is an old drug, well known and cheap to produce. But it has an important uncertainty: only two companies manufacture it and some presentations have only one alternative on the market. If there were to be a problem in the drug’s long supply chain, many newborns’ chances of surviving would be compromised.

The vials of 20 milligrams of caffeine citrate are one of the 508 medicines —made with 264 active ingredients— that the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), dependent on the Ministry of Health, has included in a new list of strategic medicines for the health system, a category that seeks to shield the supply of drugs so that they are never lacking in hospitals and pharmacies. “They are essential drugs, but they have also been on the market for many years and whose price has been falling over time. This makes them less attractive for the pharmaceutical sector. In many cases there are only one or two manufacturers in the market, which makes them vulnerable”, explains the director of the agency, María Jesús Llamas.

Drug supply problems, more frequent in those cheaper presentations, have become entrenched in recent years throughout the world. A recent report from the AEMPS highlights that in the last year they have grown by 38% in Spain and affect one in every 30 presentations on the market. In the vast majority of cases, these difficulties have little impact on the patient, since there are several identical alternatives for the drugs involved. “But this does not always happen and sometimes the problem affects a drug with no alternatives on the market and we have serious difficulties administering it to the patient who needs it,” explains Olga Delgado, president of the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH) and head of this area in the Son Espases Hospital (Palma de Mallorca).

An example is mitomycin, a key drug in the fight against bladder cancer. Others are cytarabine (against some types of leukemia and lymphoma) and methotexate (an immunosuppressant also used against cancer and rheumatoid arthritis). “Several of the drugs to be protected are oncological, but there are almost all specialties, such as some presentations of hydrocortisone [anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant] and amiodarone, used against serious arrhythmias,” adds Olga Delgado.

Managing deficiencies in some specialties is not always easy. “It takes a lot of work and a lot of planning to buy the affected medicines abroad, where it is still available. It also forces us to restrict its use only to those patients for whom there is no other alternative and to look for others for those who do have it…”, illustrates this specialist.

If a drug is only produced by one company, the risk of a problem occurring in the production plant or during transport skyrockets, with serious consequences for the health of the patients who need it. But it can also give rise to bad practices, if a pharmaceutical company decides to take advantage of the de facto monopoly that it enjoys. This was what happened with Aspen Pharma in 2018, when the company maneuvered to multiply the price of five anticancer drugs, four of which have now been included in the AEMPS list.

As the Ministry of Health did not agree to pay up to 30 times more for any of them, Aspen Pharma left the Spanish market without supplies, forcing hospitals to buy drugs that were much more expensive. The conflict was not resolved until 2021, when the European Commission became involved in the case and its Competition authorities threatened the company with a multi-million dollar fine for abusing its dominant position. Finally, Aspen Pharma relented and agreed to lower the price of its drugs by 73%.

“A medicine that is not attractive to produce for the pharmaceutical sector is a problem for the health system,” summarizes Emili Esteve, the director of the technical department of the Farmaindustria employers’ association. “We must find a way to resolve this situation and the creation by the AEMPS of the list of strategic medicines is a step in the right direction. The objective is for more manufacturers to be interested and, to achieve this, protecting them from the erosion caused by the current reference price system (which limits price increases or drives them down to save on pharmaceutical bills) is essential”, he adds.

The AEMPS initiative is the culmination of years of effort, also in the international arena, to identify the most important medicines for health systems and find the formula to guarantee their supply. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been publishing a list of essential medicines for years and the European Commission has also developed its own strategy with member states “to make supply chains more resilient and stronger,” according to the agency. .

These policies also have a scientific and industrial component, with the aim of contributing to the consolidation of a strong and innovative European pharmaceutical sector. The Profarma Plan is the translation at the Spanish level promoted by the Ministry of Industry and in which those of Health and Science also participate.

“Spain has a very good manufacturing capacity, both for the synthesis of active ingredients and for finished medicines, and we hope that this will be a stimulus. The general objective of the plan, which provides for aid, is to collaborate so that it is more innovative and competitive and, in this case, it also includes incentives for more companies to commit to the production of strategic medicines”, explains María Jesús Lamas.

Diversion to other countries
A recurring complaint from the sector in recent years has been that Spain is one of the European countries with the lowest drug prices, which would be behind some cases of shortages, since distributors – pharmaceutical companies usually have production quotas fixed for each country—in some cases obtain higher profits by diverting them to countries where prices are higher.

The AEMPS, which admits the need to guarantee the economic viability of strategic drugs, describes these cases as anecdotal and cites its latest shortage report as an example, in which only 2.4% of the 1,105 presentations with problems explained the reason. alleged by the owner of the drug was the lack of “commercial interest”. 25.3% of incidents were due to “non-quality manufacturing issues”, 24.6% due to lack of “plant capacity”, 22% due to “increased demand” that was not able to be met. cover, 8% to problems in “the supply of active ingredients” and 7.5% were related to “quality” problems, among other reasons.

“The problem of the supply chain is global and as such we are facing it with our European and international partners. There are active ingredients that are only produced in one or two places in the world. A problem in that factory or in the means of transport that distributes them to the whole world affects all countries. That is why it is so important to review each of the links in the chain, to identify at which points there may be a vulnerability and to have specific measures for each of them: have contingency stocks, increase the number of suppliers, plan the maintenance of production plants and planning any shutdown, among many others”, concludes the director of the agency.

(Taken from Therapeutic Arsenal)

PFAS molecules possess carbon-fluorine bonds so strong that they were considered virtually impossible to break. However, in their study published on August 18 in the journal Science, the researchers claim to have developed a low-energy process that degrades these chemicals at mild temperatures, using cheap reagents and leaving only harmless molecules containing carbon and fluoride ions.

“The fundamental understanding of how these materials degrade is probably the most important thing to come out of this study,” said William Dichtel, co-author of the research and professor of chemistry at Northwestern University (Illinois, United States).

He and his colleagues tested their low-energy method on PFCA molecules of different chain lengths and managed to break down 10 of them. The trick was to target a group of charged oxygen atoms at the very end of the PFCA molecules.

“The action triggered all of these reactions and started knocking fluorine atoms out of the compounds to form fluoride, which is the safest form of fluorine,” Dichtel explained. “Although carbon-fluorine bonds are extremely strong, that charged headgroup is the Achilles’ heel.”

The team then used computer simulations to test the onslaught of complex chemical reactions and confirm that the byproducts were relatively harmless.

According to Shira Joudan, a researcher in environmental chemistry at the University of York, and her colleague Rylan Lundgren, from the University of Alberta, the study “provides insight into how these apparently robust compounds can undergo near-complete decomposition under unexpectedly mild conditions.” ”. These findings could be “combined with the efficient capture of PFAS from contaminated environmental sites to provide a potential solution to the eternal chemical problem,” they conclude.

However, there are more than 12,000 different PFAS chemicals recognized to date, so more research is still needed to fully understand the reactivity of these molecules and determine whether they can all be degraded using similar approaches.

(Taken from RT in Spanish)

Your Excellency Mr. Chairman;

Your Excellencies Permanent Representatives;

Delegates;

In 2020, Cuba, like the rest of the world, was faced with the singular challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The US Administration took on the virus as an ally in its merciless non-conventional war; it deliberately and opportunistically stepped up the economic, commercial and financial blockade, bringing about losses for the country in the amount of around 5 billion dollars.

President Donald Trump implemented 243 unilateral coercive measures to restrict the visit of American travellers and harm third tourist markets; adopted wartime measures to deprive us from fuel supplies; hounded the health services we provide in many countries; increased harassment against commercial and financial transactions in other markets, and set its mind to intimidate foreign investors and commercial entities with the application of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.

It also prevented regular and institutional flow of remittances to Cuban families; deal a harsh blow to the self-employed or private sector, and hindered relations with Cubans living in the United States and family reunification.

All these measures are very much in place and implemented today and, paradoxically, are shaping the conduct of the current US Administration precisely during the months in which Cuba has experienced the highest infection rates, the highest death toll, and a higher economic cost associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The campaign platform of the Democratic Party promised voters a speedy reversal of the actions taken by Donald Trump’s Administration, particularly the removal of restrictions regarding travel and remittances to Cuba and compliance with the bilateral migratory agreements, including the granting of visas.

Evidence shows that a large majority of Americans support the lifting of the blockade and their freedom to travel to the island, and that Cubans living in this country want normal relations and wellbeing for their families.

Some blame this baneful inertia on the electoral ambitions associated with Florida or on far-from-transparent balances of political and legislative elites in Washington.

What do those who voted for President Joseph Biden think about what is going on?

Mr. Chairman;

The human damage caused by the blockade cannot be measured. No Cuban family is spared from the effects of this inhuman policy. Nobody could honestly state that it has no actual impact on the population.

In the health field, impossibility to access equipment, technology, devices, treatments and ideal drugs that cannot be procured from US companies and must be obtained at skyrocketing prices through intermediaries or replaced by less effective generic drugs, even for sick newly born and children, persists.

But now, the sly blow to our finances and Covid-19- related expenses, which amount to 2 billion pesos and 300 million dollars, also cause shortages or lack of medicaments for use in hospitals that make the difference between life and death, as well as difficulties for persons to buy in time the insulin, antibiotics, pain killers, and drugs for blood pressure, allergy and other chronic disease treatments.

Cuba sought to protect everyone against the virus; it activated its sound and universal health system; relied on the dedication, willingness to sacrifice and high qualification of its personnel; mobilized its scientists and its world class biopharmaceutical industry, and harnessed the unambiguous support and consensus of the people, particularly of the youth and students, who volunteered to work in the red zones and on epidemiological screening.

That was why we succeeded in developing highly effective domestic protocols to treat both Covid-19 confirmed and under investigation cases; creating conditions to hospitalize all confirmed cases; ensuring the sustainability of intensive care services, institutional isolation of contacts of confirmed cases and free access to PCR or antigen tests; as well as commissioning molecular biology labs in all provinces of the country.

When the blockade cruelly prevented the supply of lung ventilators, Cuba developed its domestic production with its own prototypes.

All this effort by the nation has enabled us to maintain a comparatively low case fatality rate throughout the pandemic, particularly among our health personnel, infants, children, and pregnant women.

It is remarkable that a small island subjected to a blockade has been able to produce 5 vaccine candidates and apply 3 of them −in intervention studies or sanitary interventions− to 2,244,350 Cubans with at least one shot and plans to immunize 70% of the population during this summer and the whole population before the end of the year, despite the fact that the blockade is seriously hampering the industrial scale-up of vaccine production.

This illustrates the results of putting science to the service of the people as well as the effectiveness of civil service.

When the slanderous campaign of the US Administration against our medical cooperation was intensified amidst the pandemic, Cuba sent 57 specialized brigades of the “Henry Reeve International Contingent” to 40 countries or territories, in addition to the over 28,000 health professionals already providing services in 59 nations.

The blockade also deprives the national industry of the funds to procure required inputs for the production of food −causing a drop in pork production− and other goods.

Food imports from the United States are under strict licenses and discriminatory conditions. Their small levels, on the other hand, do not compare to the enormous toll exacted on our finances by the blockade and the effects of its extraterritorial application in third markets.

I bear witness to the suffering and distress that shortage of and instability in the supply of essential and basic goods causes in Cuban households, visible in the long lines that weigh down Cubans every day amidst the pandemic.

The measures to step up the blockade amidst the pandemic and under the global economic crisis also have a decisive impact on the shortage of supplies in stores, inflation or soaring prices, despite the strenuous efforts of the government.

As Army General Raul Castro stated last April 16, and I quote: “the damage caused by these measures to the living standards of the population is not accidental or the result of collateral effects; it is the result of a deliberate purpose to punish the Cuban people as a whole”, end of quote.

The blockade is a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of the Cuban people as a whole that, pursuant to Article II c) of the Geneva Convention of 1948, constitutes an act of genocide.

Mr. Chairman;

US authorities have cynically tried to plant the idea of the failure of our system and the ineffectiveness of the Cuban government; that the coercive measures do not affect the people nor are actually a significant factor for the difficulties faced by the domestic economy.

But let us review the data. From April 2019 to December 2020, the damages caused by the blockade amounted to over 9.1 billion dollars at current prices, an average of 436 million dollars per month. During the last five years, losses due to the blockade exceeded the amount of 17 billion dollars. At current prices, the accumulated damages in six decades amount to over 147.8 billion dollars, and against the price of gold, it amounts to over 1.3 trillion dollars.

Last June 10, our banking and financial system was compelled to temporarily suspend the acceptance of cash deposits in US dollars. This is an inevitable measure in the wake of the obstacles created by the blockade to dispose of or give use value to that currency, a step we would have wanted to avoid but could not be put off any longer.

This is an extraterritorial economic war against a small country, already affected by the recession and global economic crisis caused by the pandemic that has deprived us of much needed revenues, as the ones derived from tourism.

As President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated on April 19, and I quote: “nobody with an ounce of honesty and publicly available economic data can disregard the fact that this siege is the main obstacle to the country’s development and in our quest for prosperity and wellbeing”, end of quote.

I wonder what would happen in other economies, including those of rich countries, if subjected to similar conditions. What would be the social and political repercussions?

Mr. Chairman;

The blockade is a politically motivated act, clearly described in the infamous memorandum of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Lester Mallory, dated April 6, 1960, and I quote:

“Any conceivable means must be promptly used to undermine Cuba’s economic life (…) deny money and supplies to Cuba, in order to decrease the real and monetary wages with a view to causing hunger, despair and the toppling of the Government”, end of quote.

It is maliciously complemented by a fierce campaign of political interference in the internal affairs with subversive programs to which the US Administration allocates every year tens of millions of dollars from the federal budget and additional amounts from covert funds. The purpose is to create political and social instability amidst the economic difficulties created by the same US Administration.

They reckon that if they subject the Cuban population to hardships and promote artificial leaders who incite to chaos and instability, they could create a virtual political movement in digital networks to be later transposed into the real world.

They invest considerable resources, social labs and high-tech tools in a frenzied campaign aimed at discrediting Cuba with shameless lies and the manipulation of information. They unleash a renewed McCarthyism, ideological intolerance and brutal attack against those who uphold the truth.

Some even dream about provoking social chaos, disorder, violence and death in Cuba. It is no surprise, since this is a political weapon already used against other countries with fatal consequences.

A few rave about provoking an irregular and uncontrolled migratory flow from Cuba to the United States. This is a dangerous bet about which we have warned the US government, who has the legal and moral obligation to honor the migratory agreements, particularly regarding the granting of visas. This is a sensitive issue that costs lives.

Mr. Chairman;

The States here represented are a victim of the extraterritorial effect of the blockade that infringes upon their sovereignty, violates their domestic legislations, subjects them to US Court rulings and are detrimental to the interests of their companies wishing to maintain relations with both countries, all of which is contrary to International Law.

It is neither legal nor ethical for the government of a power to wage an endless economic war against a small nation, for decades, in order to impose an alien political system and a government design by it. Depriving the population of an entire nation of its right to peace, development, wellbeing and human progress is unacceptable.

The fact that the US government has ignored for 28 years the successive resolutions of this democratic and representative United Nations General Assembly is unacceptable and inadmissible.

In September 2000, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro pointed out at this very rostrum, and I quote: “it is high time to strongly state that the principle of sovereignty cannot be sacrificed for the sake of an unjust and exploiting order in which an hegemonic superpower can decide everything on the basis of its power and strength”, end of quote.

Cuba’s claim is to be let to live in peace, without blockade and to stop the persecution of our commercial and financial relations with the rest of the world.

We demand an end to manipulations, discrimination, and to the obstacles that hinder relations between Cubans living in the United States and their relatives in Cuba and with the country where they were born. We acknowledge the efforts of those who, in this time of trial, have maintained their communication with and support to their families in the island in the wake of hate and political persecution.

Many pragmatically argue –even within the US Administration− that the blockade should be ended because it is an ineffective and anachronistic policy that has not and will not achieve its purpose and has ended discrediting and isolating the United States.

Manipulating the fight against terrorism for political and electoral purposes is also unacceptable.

On January this year, 9 days before the current administration took office, President Trump’s administration included Cuba in an arbitrary and unilateral list of States that allegedly sponsor international terrorism and which has serious consequences in the global financial system.

Nobody can honestly argue that Cuba is a country sponsoring terrorism! Nobody! Recent disclosures ridiculed the latest pretext.

Nonetheless, last May 14, the State Department once again classified Cuba as a country that does not cooperate enough with US counter-terrorism efforts, just like it did in 2020 during the previous Administration.

Cuba has been the victim of terrorist actions organized, financed and executed by the US government or from the territory of this country, which have taken the lives of 3,478 Cubans and caused disabilities to another 2,099. There is overwhelming evidence of our attempts to cooperate and of effective cooperation between the agencies of both countries in recent years.

Our stand on terrorism is well known. We fully condemn such practice in whatever form or manifestation.

Mr. Chairman;

As our sovereign decision and for the good of the Nation, Cuba has for several years been involved in an ongoing process to update our model and the Socialist State of law and social justice, supported by the vast majority of the citizens in a free, direct and universal referendum.

This is a highly complex and challenging enterprise under any circumstances, but even more difficult under the persistent hostility of US imperialism, which will in no way stop us nor crush the will of present and future Cuban generations.

I deeply appreciate the solidarity aid of our fellow countrymen and of the friends of Cuba in many parts of the world, which we greatly cherish, including those that with great efforts, given the opposition of the government, have arrived from the United States.

We are encouraged by the support received from thousands of persons around the world who have gathered to demand the US government to put an end to the blockade. Many Cubans who exalt the lone star flag even here in this country have been among the protagonist of such actions.

On behalf of my country and its honorable and generous people that resist and heroically fights its way to progress, I submit draft resolution A/75/L.97 “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” to your consideration.

Like the virus, the blockade suffocates and kills and must stop!

Homeland or Death! We shall prevail!

Thank you

They threw us to our death, denying us access to a total of 32 pieces of equipment and supplies needed for the production of our COVID-19 candidate vaccines and the execution of different stages in the clinical trials process, including equipment for the purification of the candidates, attachments for production machinery, filtration tanks and capsules, potassium chloride solution, thimerosal, packaging and reagents.

As if this were not enough, they work hard to get us to kill ourselves, to leave us discouraged, irritated, and desperate. Looking to provoke an explosion.

As none of this has happened, the trending lie is that we are afraid to rebel. A hysterical youtuber and (coincidentally?) an academic, who I cannot respect or take seriously, based on hasty and incomplete readings, attempts to sell the idea that here we live in an Orwellian atmosphere, in an oppressive country.

But we are alive. With candidate vaccines that have proven to be effective, benefiting Cubans, without distinction of any kind. Alive and very well accompanied in the battle against the blockade.

Cuba stands tall, alive, unafraid and outspoken, from one end of the island to the other. Defending our dignity, what we are and what we will never renounce being.

IN CONTEXT

Upon learning of the vote at the United Nations, Communist Party of Cuba First Secretary and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, tweeted: This is how the world reacts to Cuba’s demand. It’s now been 28 years of worldwide rejection of the blockade. The blockaders have run out of arguments. Those in solidarity strengthen support.

By consensus, the world community approved the Cuban resolution entitled “The necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.”

The accumulated damages caused to our country by the blockade, over almost six decades, have reached 147,853,300,000 dollars, at current prices, and taking into account the depreciation of the dollar as compared to gold on the international market, quantifiable damages are equivalent to more than 1,377,998,000,000 dollars.

(Taken from Granma)

According to the 2017 Global Nutrition Report, two billion people lack key micronutrients like iron and vitamin A; 52 million children are wasted (low weight-for-height usually the result of acute significant food shortage and/or disease); 88% of countries face a serious burden of either two or three forms of malnutrition (childhood stunting, anemia in women of reproductive age and/or overweight in adult women); and “the world is off track to meet all global nutrition targets.”

In case these figures are not clear enough, more simply put, one in three people in the world is malnourished.

Obesity kills as many people every year as hunger. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) “at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese.” Obesity, defined as “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health” fundamentally caused by “an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended,” has thus reached epidemic proportions.

Laura Melo, representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Cuba – an organization celebrating 55 years of cooperation with the island – told Granma that, according to the 2017 Report, Cuba is among the nations with the highest coverage rates of interventions and practices to address maternal and child malnutrition. “It is known, however, that iron deficiency anemia, overweight, and obesity are concerns and priorities on the state’s agenda,” she noted.

“This topic has a lot to do with eating habits, therefore the importance of nutrition education, what types of elements we consume. It is not only about access to food, but about diversifying our diet,” she added.

Photo: Global Nutrition Report 2016
But what do people prefer to eat? A simple glance at the data dispels any doubts regarding the danger posed by ultra-processed foods as a driving force of the global obesity epidemic. Sufficient indicators can be found in Cuba. According to the results of the Third National Survey of Risk Factors, carried out in 2010, more than 40.4% of the Cuban population aged 15 and over does not engage in sufficient physical activity, while 43.8% are overweight or obese, with unhealthy eating habits among determinants.

SUGARS IN YOUR DIET: BAD COMPANY

High consumption of sugars is associated with various conditions such as overweight, obesity, liver disorders, behavioral disorders, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular disease, various types of cancer and tooth decay, among other diseases, warns the Boletín bibliográfico de la Biblioteca Médica Nacional (Bibliographic Bulletin of the National Medical Library), in issue 10, volume 24, October 2017.

According to WHO: “Consumption of free sugars, including products like sugary drinks, is a major factor in the global increase of people suffering from obesity and diabetes.”

In this sense, it is worth clarifying that the main sources of added sugars – which manufacturers add to food or beverages during their processing or preparation – include soft drinks, cakes, cookies, sugary fruit juices, dairy and chocolate desserts, among other products.

“WHO recommends adults and children reduce their daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total calorie intake, while to obtain greater benefits it is ideally recommended to reduce consumption to less than 5% of total caloric intake, which would provide additional health benefits,” the Bulletin adds.

Likewise, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) urges countries to adopt measures such as restricting the marketing of ultra-processed foods and beverages to children, increasing the costs of these foods through taxes, increasing the production and access to healthy fresh foods, as well as the formulation of new guidelines for school and preschool food programs.

“Within the dietary habits and attitudes of Cubans is the excessive consumption of foods which contain refined sugars, often in combination with fats,” the Bulletin continues.

According to studies conducted in Cuba, among the most important risk factors for diabetes are a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. The 2010 Third National Survey of Risk Factors determined that the country’s prevalence of known diabetes was 6.1%, while according to the dispensarization of 2015, 5.7% of the population suffers from diabetes, which indicates continued underreporting of the disease and a group of people who are unaware they are diabetic.

The common factor of all these diseases: diet. As such, the most effective way to deal with this growing epidemic is to work on prevention from the earliest ages, encourage healthy lifestyles and the practice of physical exercise, as well as implementing public policies that make these elements viable.

GLOBAL STATISTICS PUBLISHED IN THE 2017 GLOBAL NUTRITION REPORT

SODIUM INTAKE

Mean intake in 2010 of 4g/day

Recommended intake is 2g/day

CHILDHOOD STUNTING

Under 5 years in 2016

155 million

23%

CHILDHOOD OVERWEIGHT

Under 5 years in 2016

41 million

6%

CHILDHOOD WASTING

Under 5 years in 2016

52 million

8%

LOW BIRTH WEIGHT

Newborns in 2014

20 million

15%

ADULT HYPERTENSION

Raised blood pressure

Aged 18+ in 2015

TOTAL

1.126 billion adults

Men

597 million

Women

529 million

ADULT OBESITY

Body mass index of 30 or above

Aged 18+ in 2014

TOTAL

641 million adults

Men

266 million

Women

375 million

ADULT DIABETES

Raised blood glucose

Aged 18+ in 2014

TOTAL

422 million adults

Men

218 million

Women

204 million

ADULT OVERWEIGHT

Body mass index ­of 25 or above

Aged 18+ in 2014

TOTAL

1.929 billion adults

Men

947 million

Women

982 million

ANAEMIA

Women of reproductive age 15–49 years in 2016

TOTAL

613 million women

Non-pregnant women

578 million

Pregnant women

35.3 million

A measure of obesity is determined by body mass index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing an individual’s weight in kilograms by the square of his/her height in meters (BMI= weight [kg]/ height [m2]).

Example:

BMI = 76kg/1.80 m2 = 23.45

In the case of adults, WHO defines overweight and obesity as follows:

Overweight: BMI greater than or equal to 25

Obese: BMI greater than or equal to 30

(Granma)

Plans for the event include the development of articulated strategies to advance the integration of Latin American and Caribbean peoples, and mobilize opposition to the imperialist counter-offensive in the region.

The meeting was called by the Cuban chapter of the Social Movements Coordinating Committee which works with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (Alba). Some 200 participants are expected, including 120 from regional and international trade unions; religious and indigenous organizations; networks of academics and intellectuals, according to ACN.

In a recent press conference, Lourdes Cervantes, president of Cuba’s Organization for Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America (OSPAAAL) reported that the ten year anniversary of the defeat of the FTAA proposed by the United States will be celebrated, and all that has been done over the last ten years “to defend our people’s sovereignty” will be evaluated.

Panel discussions are scheduled to address free trade and the role of transnational corporations; updating of resistance strategies; existing coordination among right wing forces; challenges facing regional integration and social change processes currently underway.

(Granma)

Despite the executive decisions made by President Obama, the essence of the economic, financial and commercial blockade policy remains in full force. Thus the need to, once again, bring the issue before the UN, where Cuba has received solid global support for over two decades.

The report entitled, “The necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” estimates that the accumulated damage caused over the past half century of aggression to has reached $833,755,000,000, taking into consideration fluctuations in the price of gold.

According to experts, this is a conservative figure, and in reality could be much greater. The blockade not only implies added costs incurred given the need to operate in distant markets, but also causes millions of dollars in lost revenue which the country was not able to earn around the world – since other nations fear U.S. sanctions – in addition to lost opportunities to sell Cuban products in the world’s largest market.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez is in New York to participate in the vote, and will speak before the General Assembly of 193 nations.

Expected is a resounding condemnation of the aggressive policy, which remains in effect despite the fact that Cuba and the U.S. now maintain diplomatic relations, and President Obama himself has called on Congress to definitively end the blockade.

Just a month ago, a summit of some 50 heads of state and foreign ministers, meeting in New York at UN headquarters, expressed opposition to the blockade, which was described as anachronistic, unjust, senseless, an obstacle to development, a relic of the Cold War and an attempt to asphyxiate the Cuban people.

(Granma)