UNDP brings 16,020 rechargeable lamps to Cuba for Hurricane Melissa survivors

More than 16,000 rechargeable lamps arrived in Cuba on Wednesday for families still recovering from Hurricane Melissa in the island’s eastern provinces.

The 16,020 lamps form part of a larger package of 24,830 devices purchased to help restore basic living conditions after the storm struck last October. The first 8,590 lamps had already arrived and were being distributed, the UN Development Programme in Cuba said.

The supplies were funded through the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, via the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as well as the European Union’s civil protection and humanitarian aid department and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States.

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Access to critical energy services is one of the fundamental challenges currently facing the Cuban population.

The UNDP said it coordinated the resources and support operations with Cuban institutions and international partners. It described access to essential energy services as one of the main challenges facing Cuba’s population and said it would continue working to ensure that the resources reach those who need them most.

The programme had also provided roofing modules, tarpaulins, mattresses, thermal blankets, electricity generators, solar power stations and rice for the hurricane recovery effort. It said the lamps arrived as humanitarian deliveries to Cuba faced higher costs and delays, while distribution remained difficult in affected rural areas. The UN in Cuba also said this week that a UNICEF shipment of 213,000 prenatal vitamin bottles had faced additional costs and delays. The supplies were intended to support nutrition for about 30,430 pregnant and breastfeeding women amid a deep economic crisis and shortages of food and medicine.

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We will continue working to guarantee access to these resources for those who need them most.