New York, 1st June 2021. During the annual session of the UNICEF (United Nations Children´s Fund) Executive Board, held at the New York headquarters of the organization, Cuba recognized today UNICEF´s continued support for the island´s national plans to promote education, health and participation of all children and adolescents, including in the midst of the current pandemic.
In this context, Ambassador Ana Silvia Rodríguez Abascal, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Caribbean nation to the organization, expressed her concern over the continuous decline in UNICEF´s regular resources. The Fund, she explained, has provided a comprehensive and coordinated response to support countries in light of the adverse effects of COVID-19, and has also mobilized resources at the global level to contribute to equitable access to diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines against this lethal pandemic.
The Cuban diplomat took the opportunity to illustrate her country´s achievements in terms of child protection: Cuba is among the 35 countries in the world with the lowest infant mortality rate (4.9 per 1,000 live births); the child survival rate during the first five years of life has been over 99 percent for the last 20 years; the entire child population is vaccinated against 13 diseases, including six that have been eliminated; and severe child malnutrition is not a problem among the national health indicators.
Rodríguez Abascal pointed out that such progress has been achieved despite the pandemic and the tightening of the illegal blockade that the United States imposes on her country, which affects the well-being and development of Cuban children and adolescents.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations
