I raise the issue of Cuba with the Aire Stáit. The lives of the Cuban people have been devastated by the US blockade, coupled with two executive orders. The impact is incalculable. It has meant that fuel and essential goods are just not flowing into Cuba. The infant mortality rate among vulnerable newborns has now increased to 9.9% due to the fuel sanctions and electricity outages. While some hospitals have generators, it is impossible to gauge when the electricity is going to be switched off. It takes time to get the generators restarted, so all that staff can do is rush to the wards and manually fan the infants when this happens, which is daily, until the generators kick in. Some 1,800 children have died as a consequence of the tightening of the blockade, as well as the extra 343 sanctions Trump imposed at the beginning of his first term as President. The survival of children with cancer has decreased by 20% and the national immunisation programme, one of the main achievements of Cuban public health which protects millions of Cuban children, is seriously at risk, hindered by the unavailability of raw materials, equipment and financial resources to sustain domestic vaccine production. The blockade is severely hindering the domestic production of several disease diagnostic tools developed by national industry, including essential tests for the early detection of cancer. Logistical and payment difficulties in purchasing wheat have resulted in only 50% of flour being delivered to the regions, and the weight of bread, which is normally 80 g, has to be reduced to 60 g. I am saying this because we all know how terrible it is in Cuba at the moment. What we need now is a collective ability to stand up and do something for the Cuban people. This is literally killing their babies and we cannot let it continue.

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