THE Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development is donating medical supplies worth $20 million to the Government of Cuba, to assist that country’s response to the crude oil storage facility fire at the Port of Matanzas on August 5 that left 125 people injured.

Portfolio Minister Desmond McKenzie explained that the effort is being co-ordinated by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, through the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).

“The Government has been in continuous communication with the Government of the Republic of Cuba, and therefore is responding in a specific way to the needs of the people affected. The ODPEM, as Jamaica’s disaster agency as well as a sub-regional focal point of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, is co-ordinating the logistical and other aspects of this critical exercise. This includes the organisation of the medical supplies by the National Health Fund, and their transportation to Cuba by the Jamaica Defence Force. The ODPEM will also streamline any subsequent donations from the private and public sectors.

“The Government and people of Jamaica extend sympathies and concerns to the Government and people of Cuba at this difficult moment, and we are honoured to make a practical contribution to the process of recovery,” the local government ministry said.