Havana, July 9 (RHC)-- Roberto Morales Ojeda, vice-president of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba has called for greater control on prescription drugs on the island to avoid shortages and crimes related to illegal marketing.

Addressing deputies of the Health and Sports Committee of the National Parliament, the vice-president insisted on the need to achieve greater control of prescriptions, emphasizing that polyclinics, hospitals and pharmacies needed to be involved.   Morales Ojeda stressed that in the midst of the intensification of the U.S. blockade, the battle is to ensure that the 619 products that are currently part of the basic slate are available in pharmacies most of the time.

Although there is a trend towards improvement, the Cuban vice-president said that it still not enough and stressed that it is a priority of the country's highest authorities to make sure that medications, which are heavily subsided by state, satisfy the needs of the population.

According to participants in the meeting, in Cuba there are 85 controlled prescription drugs distributed monthly to chronic patients, serving 3.3 million people.

One of the main achievements of the Cuban Revolution is its universal and free health care, which has been commended internationally for its preventive approach. This has led to the island’s health indexes which are comparable to those of highly developed countries.