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The Food Monitor Program (FMP) warned this Tuesday that the food crisis in Cuba is pushing children and adolescents to take on survival tasks that are typically the responsibility of adults, socially disguised as mere "family assistance."
According to the independent organization that systematically monitors food security on the island, the phenomenon is not isolated but rather a direct consequence of the collapse of basic conditions in Cuban homes and schools.
The data from FMP illustrate a critical scenario: 90% of the primary schools analyzed lacked stable access to drinking water or safe proteins, and 78% of households have to supplement the children's meals during the school day because more than half of the families consider the lunch provided by the educational center to be insufficient.
In addition, over 80% of families adjust their meal times based on the availability of electricity, water, or other basic services, turning food into a daily emergency management task.
"In this context, hidden hunger and forms of child labor that are often justified as 'family support' but that transfer adult responsibilities to children are on the rise," noted the FMP in its publication.
The organization accompanied the report with an image of a child carrying a large bag on their head in the street, with the message: "The crisis also has a child’s face."
The phenomenon has specific documented cases: a 14-year-old boy was seen driving a bicitaxi to help his mother in May 2026, and a 10-year-old child was going out to sell coquitos on the street just this month.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 71 reports of child labor and begging in 2025, while by the end of that same year, the government itself acknowledged that nearly 200,000 children and adolescents were in vulnerable or at-risk situations.
The alert from FMP comes eleven days after the Union of Young Communists publicly denied the existence of child labor in Cuba, arguing that "thanks to the Revolution, it is not a reality," a statement that sparked a wave of criticism and conflicting testimonies on social media.
The contradiction with the authorities is not new. Díaz-Canel acknowledged in April 2025 the existence of child labor and begging, although without providing structural solutions: "We cannot allow this to thrive during this stage of economic crisis," he said at the time.
The legal framework has not halted reality either: the Cuban Constitution, the Labor Code, and Law 178/2025 prohibit the work of individuals under 17 years old, yet the gap between the law and what happens on the streets is becoming increasingly evident.
UNICEF reported in November 2025 that one in ten Cuban children — 9% — suffers from severe food insecurity, consuming only two of the eight essential food groups recommended for their development.
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