The Diplomat
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) will send medicines and other health products to Cuba in response to the humanitarian appeal made by the country to the European Union following the serious fire at a fuel base in Matanzas.
The operation launched by AECID’s Humanitarian Action Office at the beginning of this week includes more than 27 tonnes of aid worth 80,000 euros, divided into two air shipments bound for Cuba.
The first shipment, with more than two tonnes of the most urgent medical material, is scheduled to leave Madrid today on a commercial flight and will be delivered to the Cuban authorities at its destination. Meanwhile, the second shipment with the rest of the cargo is scheduled for the end of August.
The serious fire at the fuel base in Matanzas (Cuba) started on 5 August and has so far resulted in the death of one person, 125 injured, the disappearance of 14 firefighters who were in the area closest to the incident and the evacuation of some 5,000 people.
This operation is part of the Team Europe initiative of the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Action Mechanism, which coordinates the aid requested from the EU together with the member states and finances part of the transport of the humanitarian cargo sent.
By sending medicines and medical supplies, Spain is responding to the appeal made by the Cuban Embassy in Belgium and to the European Union on 6 August, in which the Cuban government expressed the need for this type of shipment.
