Cuba Asks UN For Help as Food Shortages Worsen

Facts

• Amid an unprecedented economic crisis and escalating food scarcity, Cuba has formally reached out to the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) for assistance in supplying powdered milk to children under seven.¹
• According to Spanish news agency EFE, the Communist-led nation has requested the WFP to 'continue the monthly delivery of 1kg [35oz] of milk' to its seven-year-old boys and girls, which the UN agency has reportedly already obliged.²
• The WFP — the world's largest hunger relief organization, which helps over 90M people annually — has affirmed that the scarcity is 'significantly impacting the food and nutritional security of the population.'³
• The organization delivered 144 tons of skimmed milk powder to Cuba in February, which it said would reach almost 48K children 'between the ages of seven months and three years in Pinar del Río and Havana.' However, the aid will only reportedly benefit less than 6% of minors.⁴
• Cuba has experienced a milk shortage for years, but seven-year-olds and people with special dietary needs could get heavily subsidized milk through a ration card. However, supply has recently diminished, prompting some regions to further ration milk and others to substitute it with vitaminized drinks.⁵
• In addition to milk, there's an acute shortage of fuel — which reportedly led to the annual May Day parade being canceled last year — and medicine.¹

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²AOL, ³EL PAÃ'S English, ⁴La Prensa Latina Media and ⁵News from Havana.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by EL PAÃ'S English. This is the worst economic situation Cuba has seen in over 30 years. Inflation is through the roof, and essential foods, like milk, are only available to those who can afford to pay. This catastrophe can only be blamed on mismanagement by the Communist government. Cubans have no choice but to leave the island as a final desperate act to escape the shortages in pursuit of a better life in the US.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by BBC News. Cubans are accustomed to a shortage in commodities, with government subsidies on milk and other staple goods first being introduced by Fidel Castro following the severe economic sanctions imposed by the US in 1962. These shortages are exacerbated during difficult economic times. Asking the UN for help is a first, but necessary given the war the US is waging against Cuba, which has made an economic recovery all but impossible.