The United Nations Organization (UN) allocated $7.8 million in support of a previously announced plan for aid and assistance efforts in Cuba after the passage of powerful hurricane ian to the west of the island.
This was announced by the head of the humanitarian services of the global entity, Martin Griffiths, who pointed out that “the people of Cuba have shown tremendous resilience to face cyclones, but the climate crisis makes storms more intense and frequent,” in a statementquoted by the agency EFE.
“People expected 50 centimeters of rain, but they got three times that amount, and lost their houses, family photos, school supplies for the children and medicine for the elderly. We all need to help people respond and recover,” Griffits wrote.
@UNReliefChief Martin Griffiths:
? “The people of Cuba have shown tremendous resilience to face cyclones, but the climate crisis makes storms more intense and frequent”press release of @UNOCHA?
➡️https://t.co/Tr3g1j7lXJ pic.twitter.com/XagJx75csQ– UN in Cuba (@ONU_Cuba) October 19, 2022
In addition, the UN official called on donor countries to raise that amount, which has been taken from the Central Emergency Response Fund, and with which it is expected to help 575,000 people with food, health care, water, shelter. and education, adds the Spanish medium.
Previously, the UN had announced an action plan of 42 million aid for the Island, where it estimates that 3.2 million people were affected by the hurricane.
“Many lives were saved thanks to the rapid evacuations, but the hurricane hit schools, homes, hospitals, local businesses and agricultural areas,” the statement said.
Some 3.2M people in #Cuba were affected by Hurricane Ian, one of the worst disasters to hit the country.
We’ve allocated $7.8M from @UNCERF to help jump-start the response. But more is needed to help the people cope & recover.
We urge donors to step up. https://t.co/JHBvEQBdgT pic.twitter.com/yfHpvqQPP2
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) October 19, 2022
According to the global organization, Hurricane Ian damaged 170 clinics and more than 1,000 schools, affecting the education of 139,000 children. The meteor, which left rains, floods and winds of over 200 km/h, had a balance of three deaths -and later two electrical workers died in the recovery work-, as well as severe material losses in agriculture, in crops such as banana and tobacco, and in homes, like more than 100,000 affected in Pinar del Río alone.
After the passage of Ian, Cuba has received numerous signs of solidarity and donations and aid from the international community. It was recently reported that the United Nations paid for the installation of a water treatment plant in Pinan territory, which can treat 15,000 liters of water per day.
In addition, the Island has also received contributions from countries such as Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina and Japan, while this Tuesday met that the United States will send emergency aid valued at 2 million dollars.
