The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric.

United Nations, June 23 (RHC)-- The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, affirmed that the resolution calling for an end to the blockade against Cuba reflects the overwhelming sentiment of member states on the matter.

This is how he responded to a Prensa Latina question sent via e-mail on the presentation this Wednesday at the UN General Assembly of the draft resolution 'Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba'.

Although this issue concerns the Member States, the spokesman recalled that in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, encouraged the lifting of sanctions and unilateral coercive measures imposed on other countries, which hinder access to health supplies, medical support, and food, among others.

An addendum to the Secretary-General report annually presented on the issue describes the main hardships caused by this policy between April and December 2020.

The text states that for Cuba, these restrictions magnify the many challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and multiply its devastating socioeconomic, health-related and financial impacts.

"The measures have repeatedly hampered the arrival of humanitarian aid in the country, which, in the context of addressing the pandemic, is

immoral and unjustifiable and highlights the embargo's criminal nature," states the addendum.

Between April and December 2020, the blockade cost Cuba in the order of$3,586.9 million in losses; added to the losses of the previous period, the total from April 2019 to December 2020 amounts to more than $9,157.2 million.

Cuba has been forced to allocate considerable resources to urgently secure necessary equipment and materials for its national health system.

The impact of the embargo on the health sector, one of the hardest hit during the reporting period, may be seen in the shortages of essential consumer products, as well as the difficulties national industries face in acquiring the necessary supplies for food preservation and drug manufacturing