A serious food crisis in the 5 eastern provinces is stated in the report issued by members of the Executive Board of the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations, who visited Cuba on June 2002, and that was published on October 14th.

The document includes relevant data gathered in inquiries carried out by the organization, and during the vast journey throughtout the eastern provinces of Granma and Santiado de Cuba, where the group visited Agricultural Production Cooperatives (CPA), Basic Units of Cooperative Production (UBPC) urban vegetable gardens, schools, food procesing factories, and met with the relevant authorities.

Special attention attracts in the report the "Analysis and Cartography of the Food Insecurity Vulnerability in the Five Eastern Provinces", that comprises all their 14 municipalities, carried out by the WFP and the Physical Planning Institute of Cuba (IPF) between 1999-2000.  It allowed identify 33 municipalities "Very Vulnerable" to food insecurity, 11 "Vulnerable" and 10 "Slightly Vulnerable".

The study reflects that the average diet in the eastern provinces provides less than 80,0% of the minimum level of proteins recommended, less than 50,0% of the minimum recommended intake of fat, and a level of vitamins and minerals insuficient to keep healthy, according to a complemantary assessment performed by the Nutrition and Food Hygiene Institute of Cuba (INHA).

Due to the seriousness of the problem in that territory, the WFP and the Cuban government iniciated a project for food support based on the existing program of the mother-child care and the school cafeterias, where the WFP will concentrate its aid effords to the country, according to the Report.

Between 1963-2001 the assitance of the WFP to Cuba was 208,9 million US dollars.  In addition, it organized an operation to aid the victims of huracane Michelle reaching 200,000 US dollars in 2001.  Now the organization is concluding the five year development project "Agricultural Program for Food Security in Granma Province", to which it has dedicated
18,4 million US dollars,  The new four year project "Nutritional Support to the Vulnerable Groups in the Five Eastern Provinces", with a  22,7 million US dollars budget, started in the year 2002.

The worrisome situation reflected in the report on the visit to Cuba by the members of the Executive Board of the WFP coincides with the "Report on Food Insecurity in the World 2001", published by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the UN on October 16th, which in its chapter dedicated to Cuba points out that in the period 1997-1999 there were 1,9 million malnourished persons, that is 17,0% of the overall population.

Since the figures published by the WFP and the FAO correspond with assessments performed before 2001, it is very possible that the food situation of the Cuban population by the end of 2002 was worse, taking into account the progressive deterioration of the Cuban economy, and its consequences in the drop of food supply in the marketplace which has resulted in the increase of prices.

Havana, December 26th, 2002