UNICEF keeps constant support to the Cuban health system

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 12 (ACN) Through the program framework Every Child Survives and Thrives, the United Nations Children's Fund ( UNICEF) maintains constant support to the Cuban health system to contribute to proper nutrition practices, the national immunization program and the quality of maternal and child health care services and those for adolescents.

Dr. Odalys Rodriguez Martinez, an officer of this program, pointed out that during the most complicated moments of the health crisis period, they strengthened institutional and technical capacities within the framework of the COVID-19 response plan.

As part of the cooperation actions during the pandemic context, in October 2021 the Japanese government and UNICEF signed the project Strengthening Health Capacity for the COVID-19 crisis, which amounts to 326 million Japanese yen, equivalent to 2,970,297 U.S. dollars.

The project, Rodriguez Martinez commented, runs until April 2024 and aims to ensure human security during the health emergency by supporting the health system, the anti-COVID-19 vaccination campaign and health education.

It will benefit 253 polyclinics in Cuban provinces; in addition, it will strengthen the institutional capacities of 14 hospitals in Havana linked to maternal and child care and of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and the Finlay Vaccine Institute, producers of Cuban immunogens.

The project is linked to the Cuban Government's National Response Plan for the control and containment of COVID-19 and to the Emergency Response Plan of the international organization for the sector.

UNICEF has also contributed, since the 2000s, to the expanded immunization program in Cuba through the annual purchase of 70,000 to 100,000 doses of the PRS vaccine (mumps, rubella and measles), which guarantees 100 % coverage of children up to two years of age.