Social assistance in Cuba protects children with chronic pathology

MATANZAS, Cuba, April 22 (ACN) Six children with chronic pathologies in the western Cuban province of Matanzas, identified as high electricity consumers by medical requirement, currently benefit from social assistance through the payment of the monthly electricity bill.

Dairelys Rodriguez Barrueta, main specialist in Social Care and Prevention, explained exclusively to the Cuban News Agency that, until late March, more than 47,000 pesos were allocated to cover the service for minors, most of whom demand the use of climate equipment permanently.

Previously, Public Health specialists analyzed the particularities of the cases and, subsequently, the social workers studied the economic situation in each family to determine the amount of monetary aid according to the energy demand, the specialist from the territorial directorate of Work and Social Security said.

Rodriguez Barrueta commented that the support constitutes one of the many variants in which the Cuban State protects vulnerable sectors of the population and, regarding these children, the figure may vary according to the identification carried out on the ground by social workers in the 13 municipalities of the province.

She explained that not only with the payment of electricity is support provided to infants, but also the free acquisition of special equipment from the Health area or simply vital appliances for them such as air conditioning or refrigerator, among others.

Only for social assistance, Cuban State allocated a budget of more than 476 million pesos to the province of Matanzas in 2024, destined to help provide economic benefits or services to more than 13,000 families of the local population, estimated at just over 700,000 inhabitants.