Cuba’s failing healthcare drives people to healers
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In Cuba, people are turning to folk healers as the country’s healthcare system struggles to provide essential medicines and treatment.
Since September, Yimi Ferro of San Cristobal has gained a following by offering “blessings” and homemade vitamin preparations to Cubans, including those living abroad, who believe he can cure diseases like cancer.
Ferro receives 100 pesos (about 0.12 USD) from each patient and claims the money supports his work helping people in need, though there is no outside oversight of his finances. This trend arises from a severe economic crisis impacting Cuba’s public health system. The government recently reported approximately 70 cancer deaths daily and acknowledged that 300 of 395 essential medicines are unavailable. This scarcity has lowered survival rates, particularly among children and young people, by 20%.
Other healers have emerged and faded in recent years, like Jorge Goliat, who performed procedures with a machete and medicinal plants, and actor Jorge Martínez, who sought help from a healer while battling cancer. While some Cubans acknowledge these healers aren't providing cures, they find comfort and hope in their interventions when conventional medicine proves inaccessible or ineffective.
