The UN Presents a 42 Million Dollar Plan to Help Thousands of Cubans After Hurricane Ian

A house in Pinar del Río affected by the passage of Hurricane Ian. (Tele Pinar)

14ymedio bigger EFE/14ymedio, United Nations, Havana, 12 October 2022 — On Tuesday, the United Nations presented an action plan of 42 million dollars with which it hopes to support almost 800,000 people in Cuba affected by Hurricane Ian, both in the short term with emergency aid, and in the medium term to repair damage.

According to spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, with this initiative the United Nations seeks to support the work of the Cuban authorities to respond to the needs of citizens after the passage of Ian, which  devastated the western end of the Island at the end of September.

The UN explained that the plan will support the response in areas such as housing, health, education, food security and access to drinking water and electricity.

In total, the UN expects about 798,000 people to benefit, mainly in the provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa, the areas most affected by the hurricane.

To finance the plan, the United Nations has already allocated $7.8 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund and $3.7 million from the budget allocated to its team in Cuba.

Last week it was known that the European Union will contribute 1 million euros to help those affected by Hurricane Ian on the Island, according to the diplomatic representation of Brussels in Havana.

“Hurricane Ian has had a devastating impact on Cuba, and it’s estimated that 100,000 households have been affected,” the community bloc delegation on the Island added on Twitter.

#Ian, the first hurricane that has reached Cuba in the current hurricane season in the Atlantic, left five dead and much material damage; for example, damaging almost half of the homes in the province of Pinar del Río and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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