Cuba

Cuba faces a protracted humanitarian situation driven by a prolonged economic downturn, recurrent climatic shocks, high inflation, and chronic electricity shortages. These overlapping crises have weakened public services and livelihoods, prompting the emigration of an estimated one to two million people or roughly 10–18% of the population since 2022.

In 2026, two islandwide power outages have disrupted electricity for more than ten million people, affecting hospitals, water supply, and food distribution. These outages have compounded the effects of a major blackout in late 2025, which had already curtailed access to health and social services.

Hurricane Melissa in October 2025 further strained recovery efforts, affecting over two million people, destroying homes and public infrastructure, and damaging about 160,000 hectares of crops across Camagüey, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Las Tunas, and Santiago de Cuba provinces. The combined economic and climatic pressures are deepening people’s reliance on remittances and limiting access to essential goods and services.

(IFRC 24/12/2025, UN 26/02/2026, BBC 23/03/2026)