Cuba thanks Unicef for donation of 19 tons of powdered milk

Havana, Mar 29 (EFE).- Cuba’s government expressed gratitude here Tuesday for a Unicef delivery of 19 tons of powdered milk, a donation that bolsters its health care capabilities amid the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The deputy minister of foreign trade and foreign investment, Deborah Rivas, thanked Unicef on behalf of President Miguel Diaz-Canel’s administration for its “permanent and commendable effort to strengthen” the island’s health care system and particularly the centers that attend to minors and pregnant women.

The powdered milk is to be distributed by pediatric centers in Cuba’s western provinces for the benefit of some 6,000 minors who need that product as part of their treatment.

Rivas recalled that Unicef has made several donations to Cuba since the start of the pandemic, including syringes, refrigerators, ambulances, oxygen tanks and ultrasound devices.

Unicef’s representative in Cuba, Alejandra Trossero, said for her part at the event that the organization is committed to providing continued support to the country to alleviate vulnerabilities stemming from “multiple challenges imposed by the pandemic.”

She added that Unicef has worked with Cuban institutions to ensure essential services are available to children and pregnant women and provide technical assistance to the Public Health Ministry.

The event took place at Havana’s Juan Manuel Marquez pediatric center, one of the beneficiaries of the donation and a facility that provides hospital care to around 200 people, most of them minors.

Cuba has received several donations in recent months from Russia, the United States, Japan, Nicaragua and Vietnam, including shipments from both governments and private groups.

Health care supplies and equipment and basic foods accounted for most of the contributions, although several dozen buses also were donated.

The Caribbean nation received 135 donations from 40 countries last year, mostly medical supplies and equipment for immunizing the population and battling the pandemic, according to official figures.

Cuba has been beset by a severe crisis in recent months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the tightening of the US embargo and economic missteps. EFE

jpm/mc