Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, April 26 visited the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment, and Medical Devices (Cecmed), responsible for the regulation, control and supervision of health care production and services in the country.
In an exchange with its leadership and workers, the Cuban leader highlighted the professionalism, dedication, scientific rigor, and prestige the center has acquired, not only within the country, but internationally, as well.
He conveyed a message of respect and admiration for the hard work they do every day, while recognizing the contribution Cecmed has made to the development of Cuba’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and the public health system.
"Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of your founding," he told the group, wishing them success in present and future efforts. “Multiply what you have done thus far, which is quite a bit,” was the challenge he presented in his final remarks.
Accompanied by Councils of State and Ministers Vice President Roberto Morales Ojeda; Public Health Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda; and Cecmed director, Rafael Pérez Cristiá, the Cuban President conducted a brief tour of the laboratories, noting the painstaking work being done and the center’s modern equipment.
Pérez explained that, in 2018, the center conducted more than 3,300 tests of different batches of medicine, including biological products, blood derivatives, vaccines, and others. Medical equipment and devices used in the national health system are also evaluated and examined here, to ensure that they meet established requirements.
"Our main function is to ensure that everything reaches the population with the established quality parameters," Pérez said. The Center protects public health, and patients' access to safe, effective, and efficient medicines, equipment, and medical devices is guaranteed.
The last four years have been decisive for the Center, he said, especially 2018, strengthening the country’s medical regulatory capacity, and making use of the knowledge and experience acquired to consolidate the National Regulatory System as one of the most advanced in the region and worldwide.
Working at the institution are more than 300 professionals, of which 70% are women. With its daily efforts, Cecmed has earned the status of a World Health Organization for Health Technology Collaborating Center, awarded in 2014, and the only entity of its kind distinguished at a global level.
