Japan-UNICEF health care improvement project makes headway

HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 23 (ACN) A year into its implementation, the project Health capacity strengthening for the COVID-19 crisis, funded by the government of Japan and executed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) with the participation of Cuban authorities, is making progress, according to representatives of that international organization.

Dr. Odalys Rodríguez Martínez, UNICEF's Every Child Survives and Thrives program officer, pointed out that this cooperation project, valid until April 2024 and intended to increase human safety during the pandemic by supporting health care services, the rollout of vaccination, and hygiene educational measures, includes the acquisition of medical equipment and supplies that will contribute to capacity building, mother-and-child health and the immunization program. As part of the cooperation action, eight pediatric hospitals in Havana received oxygen therapy accessories, whereas three pediatric and two maternity hospitals received high-performance ultrasound equipment.

Kenji Hirata, Japanese Ambassador to Cuba, thanked UNICEF and the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) for their support and said that it is very important for his country that the donation provided by his people be used effectively for the benefit of the Cuban health care system.

On his end, MINSAP deputy minister Reinol García Moreiro remarked that this support is received at a time when the U.S. blockade has intensified to hamper Cuba’s ability to get the necessary resources to have a sustainable health care system.

Based on a financial cooperation of 326 million Japanese yen, equivalent to 2,970,297 US dollars, the agreement is aligned with the National Response Plan of the Government of Cuba for the control and containment of COVID-19 and with UNICEF’s Emergency Response Plan for the health sector.