Unicef donates 1.5 tons of medicines to Cuba for those affected by Hurricane Oscar
14ymedio, Havana, October 26, 2024 — A first donation of 1.5 tons of “medicines and consumable material” from Unicef arrived this Saturday in Havana to be delivered to the victims of Hurricane Oscar, which left seven dead in the eastern province of Guantánamo. The UN fund estimates that this aid will serve to support the medical care of some 140,000 people, “especially pregnant women, children and adolescents.”
The organization’s representative in Cuba, Alejandra Trossero, said that the objective is “to contribute to national response and recovery efforts in the most affected areas, especially so that children and adolescents and their families in Guantánamo have basic services.”
The donation is made up of kits that include analgesics, antipyretics, antibiotics, antifungals and other supplies for medical emergencies. Likewise, UNICEF said that, with the support of the Directorate General of Civil Protection and European Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), it was able to secure “1,000 roofing sheets, 680 metal roofing purlins (braces), and 4,700 screws” for the reconstruction of 74 affected schools in the eastern province.
The Methodist Church of Guantánamo recently published images of its members helping residents in the most affected municipalities of the province after Oscar and the heavy rains that hit this Friday. It also announced that it would welcome 65 evacuees, who will be transferred to parish homes, and it has gathered donations to distribute among the victims.
Compared to the wave of solidarity with the eastern provinces, including from the exile community, the regime’s performance seems weak. After San Antonio del Sur, Maisí, Imías and Baracoa were devastated and isolated, it took the authorities two days to reach the municipalities, and actions to accelerate the recovery have been scarce. In the official press and social networks, however, there has been no lack of voluntarism from leaders like Miguel Díaz-Canel and Manuel Marrero, but so far, it’s just been words.
Oscar entered Cuba on Sunday as a category 1 hurricane (out of 5) on the Saffir-Simpson scale, very close to the coastal city of Baracoa, and became a tropical storm before leaving on Monday through an area near Gibara, in the province of Holguín. So far, the authorities have not been able to give a definitive account of material and human damage in the area, due to the difficulty of access after heavy flooding in those localities, where there are dozens of missing people. It is feared that the death toll will be higher.
There are still isolated areas where the storm damage was severe
There are still isolated areas where the storm damage was severe, with accumulations of rainwater that caused runoff from the mountains, flooding and landslides, preventing access to the groups of rescuers.
According to Unicef estimates, the affected population amounts to 149,693 people, of which 32,600 (22%) are children. On Friday, the Cuban authorities began to evacuate the inhabitants of the eastern municipalities of Baracoa (Guantánamo, 80,000 inhabitants) and Moa (Holguín, 70,000 inhabitants), after heavy rains were recorded in the last few hours.
*The principle of relying on voluntary action (used especially with reference to the involvement of voluntary organizations in social welfare) – Oxford Dictionary
Translated by Regina Anavy
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