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The organization Food Monitor Program (FMP) reported that numerous residents of Santiago de Cuba are using contaminated water from leaks and ditches, due to a lack of supply and the inaction of the authorities.
In a recently published report, the NGO specialized in food security warned that the distribution network in the eastern city is in a critical state after decades of neglect and lack of maintenance.
According to the entity, even recently repaired sections have serious breaks that have halted their use, causing widespread shortages in residential areas.
"In some sections, water escapes to the surface and floods potholes and ditches. These outlets are used by neighbors to collect water, without any guarantees of safety," FMP stated.
The organization warned that this liquid is in contact with multiple contaminating sources and its consumption poses a significant health risk.
The NGO's monitoring includes testimonies from residents of the San Ricardo neighborhood in the José Martí People's Council, who claim to have gone up to three months without receiving regular supplies.
"The delegate promised a pipe that never arrived. Three months have passed without any authority coming to provide an explanation," said a resident.
Other testimonies reported that, after long waits, the pumped water arrives murky and untreated.
"We decided not to drink it and let it sit with alum, but many people couldn't do that. The governor said that pumping is the government's effort and processing it is the responsibility of the citizens," another neighbor stated.
The report also includes complaints about an outbreak of arbovirus disease, with numerous cases of chikungunya in the area.
The residents store water as best they can, despite the presence of larvae and the lack of products like abate.
"Nobody is going to waste the little water they have. There are leaks everywhere and clogged drains," said another affected person.
Some residents claim that the supply has turned into an informal business.
"Some people are paying 15,000 Cuban pesos for diverted water trucks," lamented a neighbor.
FMP reminded that access to clean drinking water is a basic socioeconomic right and held the Cuban State responsible for failing to ensure it.
The NGO warned that authorities have shifted sanitation tasks to communities without resources, while the deterioration of the network and official neglect continue.
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