Cuba is not up for many parties, according to an unusual request from this country.
The World Food Program (WFP) has received an unprecedented official request. The Government of Havana has requested help so that this organization can supply powdered milk to care for children under seven years of age.
This demand is interpreted as a clear sign of the economic crisis on the island. In addition to milk shortages, fuel and medicine are also running out. Starting this weekend, available fuel will cost five times more once the price increase goes into effect.
The WFP, an organization integrated into the United Nations (UN), confirmed to the Efe agency that the Cuban Executive insisted on the need for a monthly supply of powdered milk for children. The program indicated that it has begun to distribute this product in the largest of the Antilles. This product and other basic foods are provided to citizens at a subsidized price through ration cards, but there are delays and lack of supply, especially in these times of economic difficulty.
The lack of milk has only gotten worse in recent months. Commerce Minister Betsy Díaz acknowledged long delays in supplies for children between six months and two years old.
Although the Cuban Executive continues to blame the shortage on the US embargo and sanctions, critics blame the communist Administration for the mismanagement of the crisis, which is considered the worst in at least three decades, since the so-called special period registered after the fall of the USSR.
The vice prime minister, Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca, accepted that Cuba was not being made self-sufficient, although he blamed it on the Cubans and their lack of “a culture of productivity.”
