This mobile team will be transferred to Pinar del Río to meet the urgent water and sanitation needs of the population most affected by the passage of Hurricane Ian and will allow the country’s authorities to move it to carry up to 15,000 liters of treated water per day to the communities that need it most. This will facilitate access to safe water on a regular basis for many families.

The plant, which also has a kit of materials to promote hygiene habits and to meet the most urgent sanitation needs, was channeled in coordination with the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX) and the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources. (INRH).

Regarding this important contribution, Consuelo Vidal, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System, expressed:

“The United Nations System will continue to redouble actions to help and reinforce the efforts of the Government of Cuba in the response to the emergency of Hurricane Ian and in recovery actions to improve the living conditions of the affected people, in particular, of the most vulnerable.”

This long-term, sustainable solution – the plant has a useful life of 20 years – supports the recovery efforts of affected communities and improves the country’s resilience to natural disasters.

About 3.2 million people in the provinces of Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Havana and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud were affected by the severe impact of Hurricane Ian in the western region of Cuba.
It is estimated that one million people need support. Nearly 636,218 children and adolescents from zero to 18 years of age live in the affected provinces, of which 223,000 reside in the most vulnerable municipalities.
47,000 people still do not have access to drinking water in Pinar del Río and in most of the places where the service is provided it is done by means of tanker trucks.
The United Nations System in Cuba supports recovery efforts with interventions in the sectors of Water, Hygiene and Sanitation, Education, Food Security, Housing and Health.

(Taken from Unicef)

Perceval talked to Prensa Latina about Cuban achievements after concluding a forum in this capital on children’s right to grow up in a family.

Cuba has a program entitled ‘Educate your child’, a global model in early childhood development, that we have shared in other countries, the representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), stated.

Perceval also highlighted with pride the progress in health in the Caribbean nation, the first to validate the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS in 2015.

Another of the country’s great strengths is the preparedness for natural disasters, she noted.

She showed at the same time her gratitude to the Cuban government and people for accepting the Agency’s contribution to the recovery of the country after the hurricanes’ lashes last year.

UNICEF has been working side by side with the Cuban people and government in courage, solidarity and effort, Perceval said enthusiastically.

Perceval visited Nicaragua to recognize the country’s efforts and achievements in the deinstitutionalization of children, one of the main problems in the region.

(Prensa Latina)

According to the document entitled Early Moments Matter for Every Child, Cuba is one the few nations which provides “two years of tuition-free pre-primary education; six months of paid breastfeeding breaks; and six months of paid maternity and four weeks of paid paternity leave.”

Such policies help to “lay the foundation for optimal early childhood development,” notes the report, which will be presented when heads of state or government, and senior officials of the UN’s 193 member-states address the issue of inclusive human well-being during its General Assembly sessions.

The 15 countries with three essential national policies that support families with young children include Cuba, Belarus, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Luxemburg, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Sweden, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.

The report also notes that “around 85 million children under five live in 32 countries that do not offer” such policies, including economic powers like Australia and the United States.

According to the document, “These policies help parents better protect their children and provide them with better nutrition, play and early learning experiences in the crucial first years of life when the brain grows at a rate never to be repeated.”

(With information from Prensa Latina)

The UN representative also emphasized the impact of donations benefiting both children and communities in affected regions; noting the gratitude expressed by recipients.
The Unicef official went on to state that fund-raising actions to support recovery efforts in Guantánamo will continue.

Colamarco led a delegation of Unicef representatives in Cuba who visited areas affected by the hurricane, in order to strengthen coordination efforts with local governments and follow-up on the distribution of resources donated to the four most severely affected municipalities.

We are pleased with the control, seriousness and discipline with which Cuban government authorities, and in particular those of this eastern province, have distributed resources donated by Unicef for victims of Hurricane Matthew, stated Colamarco.

The delegation also visited schools and communities in Baracoa, Maisí, Imías and San Antonio del Sur, where they spoke with children, teachers and residents.

In addition, representatives met with local government officials responsible for the region’s health, water and education sectors.

During their visit the delegation also received an explanation regarding the distribution of supplies obtained through the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), and their impact on families and schools.

These donations included early child development kits, with materials and games designed to stimulate learning capabilities in infants and young children; recreation kits supporting the psycho-social recovery of children affected by the hurricane; as well as crates of school supplies, which contain books, chalk, erasers, paint brushes, and pencils among other resources.

(Granma)