Guantanamo.- The Cuban eastern provinces of Guantánamo, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba have received a substantial shipment of medical supplies coordinated by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) with support from international partners.
The delivery included emergency kits with basic-care supplies, medicines for sexually transmitted infections, and drugs to treat pneumonia and tuberculosis, among other essential items. Shipments will be distributed to health centers across the region, including pediatric hospitals, strengthening the health system’s capacity and improving patient care.
The humanitarian effort was funded and supported by the governments of South Korea and Brazil, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
Additional consignments will be consolidated to maximize transport capacity and help the National Health System maintain continuity of services nationwide. PAHO/WHO will finance the final legs of transportation in partnership with non-state carriers capable of moving large cargo volumes and experienced in such operations.
Logistics have been constrained by the current energy situation, prompting focused United Nations support as part of the expanded response to Hurricane Melissa. The World Food Programme, acting within the logistics sector of the Expanded Action Plan, has supported extraction at ports and airports and the transport of humanitarian cargo, contributing to the removal and transfer of more than 19 containers so far.
