Caritas Cuba works through the 11 dioceses in Cuba as one of the few independent non-governmental organisations active there. Its programmes include numerous soup kitchens and health-related projects. Caritas Cuba also focuses on two of Cuba's most vulnerable groups: the elderly and children with learning difficulties.

Caritas Cuba has developed a national programme that organises local workshops aimed at increasing social awareness and enhancing the technical and coping skills of vulnerable groups.

The main partners of Caritas Cuba include Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Caritas Switzerland. CRS has worked with Caritas Cuba to provide emergency, humanitarian and development assistance to the most vulnerable and needy people in Cuba since 1993, delivering US$27 million in medical supplies, food and clothing for distribution in hospitals, homes for the elderly and vulnerable children.

Themes

The work of Caritas Cuba includes:

• Services for senior citizens;
• Services for children, also targeting children with handicaps and those with learning difficulties;
• Education and training projects;
• Humanitarian assistance.

Officially, there is no poverty in Cuba, which has free social services and subsidised food and rent. But a 1997 study by the World Bank concluded that 14.7 percent of the urban population was “at risk of not covering essential needs”.