"Guterres" Calls for urgent international support for Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa and allocates $4 million for relief

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed on Sunday his solidarity with the people of Jamaica following the devastating repercussions of Hurricane Melissa, stressing the importance of international support to confront the widespread effects of the storm.

 

Guterres indicated, in a statement following a phone call with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, that the country is facing the effects of a Category 5 storm that caused heavy rains, sweeping floods, collapses and catastrophic torrents. UN spokesman said that the Secretary-General called for “the mobilization of massive resources.” To deal with the losses and damage resulting from the hurricane.

In the same context, Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher allocated $4 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to urgently expand the scope of humanitarian operations in Jamaica.

Residents of several areas on the island are still waiting for aid to arrive five days after the hurricane reached land, amid difficulties in accessing roads and power and water outages, according to local reports. The government had announced that the death toll from the hurricane had risen to at least 28 people.

Denis Zulu, the senior United Nations official in Jamaica, said that about 13 United Nations agencies are working with local authorities to reopen roads and carry out basic repairs, stressing the United Nations’ commitment to supporting the country until it “returns to its feet.”

Within the framework of humanitarian support for children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced that more than 700,000 children In the Caribbean region, they were affected by the hurricane, which also struck Cuba and caused major damage in western Haiti.

UNICEF is working with the Jamaican government to reach about 284,000 children to provide urgent food needs, water, sanitation and hygiene services, and psychological support.

In Haiti, the organization is distributing emergency medical and health supplies, providing cash assistance to the most affected families, and supporting community outreach activities.  

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