End the Blockade. Stand in Solidarity with the Cuban People.
Across Cuba, families are living with prolonged blackouts, shortages of medicine, and growing pressure on hospitals and schools. What is happening in Cuba today is not a natural disaster — it is a man-made humanitarian crisis shaped by decades of U.S. policy. Now is the time to stand in solidarity with the Cuban people.
For nearly four decades, Global Exchange has worked alongside Cuban communities to build people-to-people connections, challenge harmful policies, and mobilize action in the United States. Today, this work is more important than ever. We are strengthening relationships with the Cuban People, organizing delegations to bring humanitarian aid, and mobilizing communities to respond to this urgent moment.
The Current Crisis
The U.S.-manufactured crisis in Cuba is touching every household on the island. Shortages of medicine and food are widespread. Schools and workplaces are disrupted. Electricity and water service are increasingly unreliable.
What we are witnessing is not simply an economic downturn. It is the result of sustained economic pressure that has intensified in recent months under the Trump administration. New restrictions on fuel, banking, and trade have deepened shortages across the island and made it increasingly difficult for hospitals, schools, and families to meet basic needs.
Blackouts now last more than 24 hours in many places. Mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue and chikungunya are surging. Hospitals are struggling with shortages of staff and even basic supplies. Even infant mortality, something Cuba has made enormous progress on, has begun to rise.
Solidarity in Action Today
Global Exchange is responding to this moment with immediate and concrete action.
In March 2026, Global Exchange participated in the Nuestra América Convoy, joining people from across the Americas and around the world to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Cuban people and deliver urgently needed supplies to communities across the island. As part of this effort, Global Exchange delivered more than $23,000 worth of cancer treatment medicines to hospitals in Havana, and members of our delegation carried approximately 1,700 pounds of humanitarian aid.
Global Exchange continues to accept donations. If you live in the Bay Area, please consider donating to our recently launched Bay Area Humanitarian Aid Hub. We are gathering essential items, including medicines, medical supplies, hygiene products, and other basic necessities, to send to communities facing severe shortages.
For those who cannot donate goods in person, we are also collecting funds online to purchase and send urgently needed medicines directly to hospitals and community health programs in Cuba. You can donate here.
We are also organizing upcoming solidarity delegations to Cuba to deliver essential supplies and deepen people-to-people connections between communities in the United States and Cuba. If you are part of an educational institution, a union, or a professional group, or have a group of friends or family who want to travel, contact Global Exchange to arrange a custom trip.
At the same time, Global Exchange is launching a Bay Area solidarity hub to collect donations and mobilize community support.
This work builds on our decades of solidarity, showing up in moments of crisis, building relationships across borders, and standing with the Cuban people when it matters most.
Join the Movement
For decades, Global Exchange has worked to educate the U.S. public about the right to travel to Cuba and the importance of building people-to-people ties between our countries. Learn more here. That work is more important than ever.
You can stand in solidarity with the Cuban people by donating funds to support the purchase and delivery of urgently needed medicines, contributing supplies to our Bay Area collection effort, traveling with us on an upcoming solidarity delegation to Cuba, or raising your voice to call for an end to the blockade.
Together, we can build the relationships, solidarity, and political will needed to change policy and support the Cuban people.
Sign up for our email list to receive updates and actions you can take to support the normalization of relations with Cuba.
