Russia Donates $5 Million for School Meals Program

Recently, the Russian government made a donation of $5 million to Cuba for school meals through the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).

The donation was endorsed with the participation of the Russian Ambassador Andrei A. Guskov, Paolo Mattei, the representative of the WFP in Cuba, and Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX).

Ambassador Guskov commented that COVID-19 affects the most vulnerable sectors of society, among them children, who need abundant food for their physical and intellectual growth. This donation will contribute to that objective and also to the development of the country.

The project, he said, is aimed at strengthening agricultural production that supports school feeding, increasing the capacity of farmers and cooperatives to ensure the regular, stable and diversified supply to schools and canteens.

The WFP representative said the project “Support for Sustainable School Feeding by Strengthening Local Food Production in Cuba” will be implemented in 10 municipalities in the eastern region.

It is expected to directly benefit about 16,200 people (elementary school children, older adults assisted by the family care system, households of school children and small farmers), and indirectly another 600,000. The First Vice-Minister of MINCEX, Ana Teresita González, expressed gratitude for the delivery of the resources and described the relationship between both countries as strategic and allied.

Russia is Cuba’s second commercial partner in Europe and the fifth in the world. Ms. González highlighted the willingness to continue expanding relations in trade, investment and cooperation.

In August 2020, the Russian Government allocated $10 million dollars to the WFP to support sustainable school feeding systems in Cuba and Nicaragua during the period 2020-2024.