Nearly 1,500 schools and 287 health centers are damaged in Cuba.

On Friday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that 900,000 children have been affected by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Approximately 679,000 of them require urgent assistance.

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UNICEF spokesman Ricardo Pires explained that Cuba has the largest number of affected children, around 441,000, while in Jamaica there are an estimated 281,000, in addition to 62,000 children in the Dominican Republic.

The Haitian situation is more difficult since many of the children were already experiencing displacement or health issues requiring emergency aid, due to the crisis the country has suffered in recent years from gang violence.

Nearly 1,500 schools and 287 health centers in Cuba were damaged by the hurricane. UNICEF has already provided assistance to this Caribbean country by sending water purification plants, hygiene kits, and school supplies.

The text reads, “As part of UNICEF Cuba’s immediate response in support of children, adolescents and their families in the territories most affected by Hurricane Melissa, 69 kits with essential medical supplies (11,425 kg) arrived this Saturday, which will benefit more than 90,000 people.”

In the Cuban health sector, 461 facilities were affected, including doctor’s offices and pharmacies. Preliminary damage was detected on 78,700 hectares of agriculture sectors, more than a half in banana plantations.

In Haiti, the Hurricane Melissa caused the total or partial destruction of more than 6,000 homes. In this country, 10 out of 31 people who died due to the heavy storms were children.

In Jamaica, where the hurricane hit hardest, “major hospitals have been destroyed or partially damaged, while many communities remain flooded,” Pires added, and requested US$56 million from its donors to respond to these emergencies.

teleSUR: JP

Source: EFE

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