The UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichón, reaffirmed the United Nations System’s support for the Cuban State in its response to Hurricane Melissa, highlighting the effectiveness of its civil defense and prevention model, which saved lives.
Together with Dario Álvarez, an official from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), he emphasized the strength of the national risk management system, led by Civil Defense, as the central pillar of an effective, timely, and profoundly humane response.
He noted that even before the hurricane made landfall, the United Nations system activated anticipatory action mechanisms, in close coordination with national authorities, to proactively respond to the hurricane’s potential impacts.
He explained that a team from the UN System, comprised of representatives from United Nations agencies present in the country, along with international partners such as the European Union, was invited by the Civil Defense General Staff (EMNDC) to visit severely affected areas in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Granma. During this tour, they witnessed firsthand the scope and effectiveness of the national mobilization prior to the storm, which allowed for the evacuation and protection of more than 735,000 people, with no loss of life reported to date.
The visit included communities heavily impacted by Melissa, such as El Cobre, the Cauto River basin, and the municipality of Cauto Cristo. The latter experienced flooding that forced authorities to rapidly increase evacuation operations, activate shelters, and deploy medical and logistical resources.
According to the official, this immediate response capacity impressed the UN representatives and contrasts sharply with the response to human tragedies in other nations. It stands as a testament to the institutional capacity accumulated over decades in disaster prevention and preparedness.
He emphasized that the United Nations system is acting in this process under the guiding principle of General Assembly Resolution 46/182, which establishes that the primary responsibility for leading the humanitarian response lies with the affected State.
Within this framework, the UN’s role is to “accompany, support, and strengthen the government’s actions, respecting its leadership. This collaborative approach has enabled an agile and coordinated response, based on two key instruments: the Action Plan in response to Hurricane Melissa, and the Anticipatory Action Framework.”
Funded with $4 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the Anticipatory Action Framework marked a milestone in the response efforts by allowing for the pre-positioning of aid before the hurricane’s impact.
“Through this mechanism, water purification plants were pre-positioned in regions at high risk of scarcity, along with food for evacuation centers, hygiene kits, electric generators, and other supplies, in close coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX) and various national ministries and entities.
This early intervention, made possible by ongoing technical and scientific dialogue with the authorities to jointly plan anticipatory action, prevented secondary crises and accelerated the initial recovery,” Pichón noted.
Once the hurricane passed, the Emergency Response Action Plan was activated. This coordinated instrument, involving 11 UN agencies—out of a total of 23 present in Cuba—focuses on six critical sectors: housing and shelter, food security and nutrition, education, health, water and sanitation, and logistics.
Formally launched the previous week in Havana, the plan has a funding target of $74 million, intended to provide direct assistance to at least one million people. affected. To date, commitments of more than $11 million have been secured from the United Nations Central Emergency Fund (CERF), agency funds, and cooperation partners such as the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the government of Korea.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba emphasized that the Action Plan is a dynamic instrument, constantly being updated as damage assessments conducted by the authorities progress.
While it was initially estimated that some 2.2 million people in 33 municipalities suffered direct or indirect impacts—out of a total of 3.5 million exposed to the phenomenon—these figures are being refined with official information from the ground, he added.
It’s acknowledged, he said, that many communities are still being reached, and that actual needs could change in the coming weeks. Therefore, the Plan is considered “living,” capable of adapting to the evolving situation on the ground.
Pichón described how the UN team was able to observe firsthand the progress in concrete actions: the gradual restoration of services, sanitation, and access to isolated communities. Generators have also been deployed to guarantee power supply to health centers and critical locations.
He also noted that the delivery of food to evacuees has been ensured. “These advances, while significant, are only the beginning of a complex process that requires sustainability and additional resources.”
In this regard, he pointed out that “63 million dollars still need to be mobilized to fully address the needs identified in the Action Plan, especially for the reconstruction of homes, the rehabilitation of staple crops, the repair of schools and hospitals, and the restoration of essential services.”
For his part, Darío Álvarez, from OCHA, emphasized that the efficiency of the response in Cuba is due to unique factors: the existence of a clear risk management structure, the technical capacity of the authorities, and the existence of constant dialogue based on scientific data.
“This isn’t always the case in other contexts,” he noted, “but the fact that the system is well-structured here facilitates coordination.” He also stressed that every need expressed by the population—from a broken roof to a wet mattress—is legitimate and is part of the priority list, because in an emergency, what seems small can have a major human impact.
He concluded that, beyond material assistance, “having zero casualties in an emergency of this nature speaks to a very effective population protection system, which we will support in the search for new resources to continue assisting the most affected population.”
IMAGE CREDIT: Photo: Vladimir Molin
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
