Humanitarian Cooperation Continues in Eastern Cuba

A shipment donated by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was received at the Antonio Maceo International Airport in Santiago de Cuba.

The aid is part of a coordinated response to support recovery from the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa and marks the start of a series of three humanitarian flights extending through next Monday, aimed at reinforcing relief efforts in the region.

Logistical Support for the Region
At the airport, Rolando Verdes, a member of the WFP emergency team in Cuba, explained that this first flight carried six mobile warehouses, two lighting towers, two hundred tarps, and eight water tanks. Verdes highlighted that this initiative is possible thanks to funding from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the European Union, through its Humanitarian Aid Agency.

He emphasized the WFP's leadership role in the logistics sector within the UN Response Action Plan and detailed that they have deployed a team to assemble and commission six mobile warehouses in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Granma, and Holguín.

Replenishing Essential Supplies
The supplies are intended to replenish items that the WFP had previously allocated for the early response to the hurricane and to continue support for the eastern provinces. The World Food Programme reaffirmed its commitment to continue mobilizing resources to support humanitarian assistance and food security for the most vulnerable people in the eastern provinces as part of the emergency response.