The following is attributable to USAID Acting Spokesperson Pooja Jhunjhunwala

This week, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Administrator John Barsa participated in the launch of the third “State of Social Rights in Cuba” report. Produced by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, and the International Republican Institute, the quarterly report presents survey results on how Cubans perceive their access to water, food, health care, employment, housing, and other critical basic social services.

Acting Administrator Barsa highlighted the importance of this report and others like it that detail the poor quality of life under the Cuban regime. He emphasized that, even while conditions faced by the Cuban people continue to deteriorate, the regime punishes civil-society organizations, human-rights defenders, and independent media who tell the truth about the increasingly dire situation.

USAID stands in solidarity with the Cuban people and will continue to support those who keep the hope of democracy alive on the island.

Read the full report here.