Cuba shifts to targeted social aid, identifies 626,000 vulnerable households

The Cuban government, through the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, announced a reform of its social assistance system, moving from universal subsidies to aid directed at households most in need. After a pilot in six municipalities and a nationwide vulnerability assessment in the first half of the year, officials identified roughly 1.0 million households (about 1.36 million people) as vulnerable, with 626,000 households prioritized for the new programs. The priority groups include elderly people living alone, families with children under five, pregnant women, persons with disabilities, and children or adolescents with chronic illnesses.

Currently about 177,000 families receive social assistance, benefitting around 300,000 Cubans, the majority through temporary monetary payments. The new system will use a multidimensional vulnerability index that considers economic, health, housing, employment and education factors, and will also extend non‑cash support such as social worker visits and electricity coverage for medically‑dependent children. The reforms aim to redirect state resources toward those most at risk while phasing out universal product subsidies.