Geneva [Switzerland], March 26 (ANI): Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Thursday said that health should be protected at all costs and never be at the mercy of geopolitics, energy blockades and power outages with respect to Cuba.

Ghebreyesus said that the situation in Cuba is deeply concerning as the country struggles to maintain health service delivery.

'Health should be protected at all costs and never be at the mercies of geopolitics, energy blockades and power outages. The situation in Cuba is deeply concerning as the country struggles to maintain health service delivery at a time of immense turbulence, leading to energy shortages that have been affecting health.'

'Reports show that Cuban hospitals have been struggling to maintain emergency and intensive care services. Thousands of surgeries have been postponed during the last month, and people needing care, from cancer patients to pregnant women preparing for delivery, have been put at risk due to lack of power to operate medical equipment and cold chain storage for vaccines,' he said.

https://x.com/DrTedros/status/2036911681411178874?s=20

'While I am encouraged by Cuba's efforts to restore power to support services, people's health, and the services that support them, cannot be left at the mercies of fluctuating power and geopolitics. Cuba's hospitals, clinics and ambulances are needed now, more than ever, and must be supported to perform their life-saving work,' he added.

The first boat in a humanitarian aid flotilla has arrived in Cuba to support the island amid a worsening US energy blockade that is deepening its economic and energy crises, as per Al Jazeera.

A boat carrying about 30 people, including food, medicine, solar panels, and bicycles, arrived in Havana, the capital city, on Tuesday, part of the 'Nuestra America' or 'Our America' convoy that set out from Mexico last week, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The convoy comes as US President Donald Trump and his allies continue to express their desire for regime change in Cuba, using greater energy restrictions to further degrade the Cuban economy. Trump has stated that he could 'take' Cuba and select a government more amenable to US demands.

The vessel on Tuesday -- called the 'Granma 2.0' in reference to the boat that ferried Cuban revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro to the island as part of an effort to overthrow the regime of US-backed strongman Fulgencio Batista -- departed from Puerto Progreso, in Merida, Mexico, last week. Two other vessels are also en route, as reported by Al Jazeera. (ANI)