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Humanitarian
Assistance
The Cuban Democracy Act encourages the donation of humanitarian supplies to
the people of Cuba, including medicine, food, and clothing.
Since the passage of the Cuban Democracy Act, the U.S. has become the
largest donor of humanitarian assistance to Cuba. Much of the humanitarian
assistance by U.S. non-governmental organizations consists of medicines and
medical equipment. The U.S. Government has licensed more than $227 million
in humanitarian donations of medicines and medical supplies to Cuba over the
last four years.
U.S. humanitarian assistance has been distributed throughout the island,
including to medical clinics. Monitoring is not required for donations of
medicines for humanitarian purposes to non-governmental organizations in
Cuba. During 1996 and through July of 1997, the Treasury Department's Office
of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had issued 68 licenses for delivery of
humanitarian goods to Cuba and 44 for humanitarian needs assessments. During
the same period the Department of Commerce approved 123 licenses for
humanitarian donations; none were denied.
In addition, it is believed that the single largest source of medicines used
in Cuba today is the large volume of gift packages sent to Cuban nationals
by organizations and individuals living in the U.S. These gift packages are
estimated to be worth millions of dollars annually. |
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