For over 30 years an embargo by the USA has restricted Cuba's ability to purchase foods and medicines. In 1992, the USA enacted the Cuban Democracy Act (CDA), which "exempted" the sale of medicines from the embargo. However, the implementation of the CDA's requirements and the intensification of the embargo as a result of the passage of the Helms-Burton Act in March, 1996, have undermined the purpose of the medicine exemption. The resultant lack of food and medicine to Cuba contributed to the worst epidemic of neurological disease this century. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States has informed the US Government that such activities violate international law and has requested that the US take immediate steps to exempt food and medicine from the embargo.