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The Government of Canada announced this Saturday a new round of humanitarian assistance for Cuba totaling 5.5 million Canadian dollars, channeled through international organizations to address the severe crisis the island is experiencing.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand, and the Secretary of State for International Development, Randeep Sarai, as reported by the Government of Canada.
From that amount, five million Canadian dollars will be allocated to the Pan American Health Organization to protect the health of vulnerable populations, improve access to essential services, medications, medical supplies, and primary care in hospitals.
The remaining 500,000 Canadian dollars will go to the World Food Program for food assistance, essential logistics, and fuel needs in the humanitarian response.
Ottawa emphasized that the aid will reach the most vulnerable directly through trusted organizations, without going through the Cuban regime.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada described the situation on the island as "an escalating humanitarian crisis, marked by repeated failures in the national electrical grid, prolonged blackouts lasting many hours across the island, and a severe shortage of fuel."
The Cuban electrical system recorded a maximum deficit of 1,871 MW on April 12, with a availability of only 1,927 MW against a demand of 3,500 MW, and blackouts affected up to 43% of the country simultaneously.
The island has gone without regular supplies of diesel, fuel oil, and liquefied gas for three consecutive months, a situation exacerbated by President Trump's executive order on January 29 that blocked the supply of oil to Cuba, and by the fire at the Nico López refinery on February 13.
A recent report indicates that the sustained support from Canada to the Cuban regime amounts to 60,956,283 dollars, which has sparked debate about the nature and actual recipients of Canadian cooperation with the island.
Francisco Pichón, UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba, described the impact of the crisis as to all sectors of Cuban society.
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