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The Japanese government will allocate 6.5 million dollars to install solar energy systems in hospitals across several provinces in Cuba, aiming to maintain medical services during the blackouts affecting the island, as announced by the United Nations Development Programme on May 5.
The agreement was formalized in an official ceremony in Havana, attended by representatives from Cuba, Japan, and the UN.
The project, which will be carried out over a period of two years, will install solar panels, power conditioners, and storage batteries tailored to the critical needs of each hospital center.
The actions will be led by the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba (MINSAP) in coordination with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Electric Union, and local authorities.
The UNDP straightforwardly described the magnitude of the problem it seeks to address: "Hospitals are among the most affected facilities, with interruptions that threaten the continuity of critical medical services, the operation of life-saving equipment, and the preservation of medications and vaccines."
The energy crisis affecting Cuba is of unprecedented severity in recent times. The National Electric System has experienced at least seven total collapses in the last 18 months, including two in the same week of March 2026: on March 16, lasting 29 hours and 29 minutes, and on March 21.
In April 2026, the generation deficit reached 1,945 MW, leaving more than 55% of the national territory without electricity simultaneously.
The impact on health centers has been devastating. In April, the Provincial Hospital of Santiago de Cuba evacuated 12 patients from its ICU due to a blackout, and as of March 31, more than 96,000 patients were awaiting surgery across the island, including 11,193 children.
Japan's cooperation with Cuba in energy and health has concrete precedents. Through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Asian country financed a 10 MW lithium-ion battery system in the Isle of Youth, completed in August 2025, which allowed for a 20% share of renewable generation in that special municipality.
In 2023, JICA also donated medical equipment to Cuban hospitals valued at five million dollars, including 13 mobile X-rays, 44 ultrasounds, and 1,000 aspirators.
The root cause of this emergency is nothing other than the collapse of an electrical infrastructure that has deteriorated over decades of dictatorial management, featuring obsolete thermoelectric plants and a structural reliance on Venezuelan oil that has been gradually disappearing.
UNDP, which manages more than 40 cooperation projects in Cuba, expects that the installation of photovoltaic systems will benefit 2.6 million patients and 27,500 health sector workers once the project is completed.
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