HAMILTON, Canada 

The UN expressed concern Tuesday about the worsening situation in Cuba amid a fuel crisis triggered by the US blockade.

"We remain deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation, driven by the inability to import fuel. This has triggered an energy crisis," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a news conference.

Warning that "Cuba's already strained health system is approaching a critical point," he said that "hospitals face frequent power outages, shortages of essential medicine, inability to operate critical equipment, and major disruption" in critical units.

Dujarric reported that "food supply chains, from production to storage to distribution, are increasingly impacted, with cold chain systems failing, transport routes increasingly disrupted, and a reduction in the availability of basic food items across the country."

"Our partners on the ground are working to provide assistance, but the lack of fuel for those operations is forcing food and water trucks to operate in a limited capacity," he said.

Cuba is facing its deepest economic crisis in decades as the US has intensified pressure on the island in recent weeks by moving to block oil shipments, including supplies from ally Venezuela.

The measure has driven up food and transportation costs, caused severe fuel shortages and led to prolonged nationwide blackouts.