“Our organization is glad to support Cuba’s efforts to guarantee free and high-quality health coverage to all its citizens,” the UNICEF Representative in Cuba Co stated.

On Wednesday, the Japanese government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) donated US$2.9 million to Cuba to strengthen its health capacity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This joint effort reflects the bonds of cooperation and friendship between our governments and the UNICEF, which has always shown solidarity in difficult times,” Japan’s Ambassador to Cuba Hirata Kenji stated.

With this donation, the Cuban authorities will strengthen health centers’ technical capacities to diagnose and care for COVID-19 patients, hygienic-sanitary measures in workplaces and schools for disease prevention, and services of 13 maternal and child hospitals.

The funds will also allow developing communication strategies to boost disease risk perception amidst the population and purchasing syringes for COVID-19 immunization and protective equipment such as masks and medical gloves for health personnel.

Japan expressed interest in increasing coronavirus scientific exchange with Cuba given that this Caribbean country has already developed three coronavirus vaccines: Abdala, Sovereign 02, and Sovereign Plus, which showed an efficacy rate of over 90 percent in clinical trials.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also recognized the results of Cuba’s mass coronavirus immunization campaign, thanks to which 62,4 percent of the population have been fully immunized against COVID-19 so far.

“Cuba is an example for all nations. Despite being a developing country, it guarantees high-quality and free health coverage to all its people. Our organization is glad to support these efforts,” the UNICEF Representative in Cuba Brandao Co stated.