More than 130 roads have been blocked, power and communications networks disrupted, while health services remain under severe strain, according to the UN aid coordination office (OCHA).
“Up to 360,000 people could need food assistance,” said the World Food Program (PAM). Access to some western parishes remains difficult due to a lack of debris and fuel, OCHA said.
WFP has been “working around the clock,” developing joint plans and strategies with the government, said Brian Bogart, country director of WFP’s multi-country office in the Caribbean, during a briefing with journalists in New York via video link.
Jamaican Resilience
“The Jamaican people are resilient,” he said, “but they need urgent support to maintain that resilience.
Mr. Bogart reiterated that the urgent needs remain food, water, shelter and medicine for the hardest-hit communities.
Over the past two days, a ship from the French and Dutch navies loaded with relief items landed in Kingston harbor.
In the coming days, WFP plans to assist up to 200,000 people across the country with food assistance and cash transfers, which is essential as the country moves from an immediate humanitarian response to a longer-term recovery strategy.
Cuba and Haiti
Food distribution in Cuba has already reached 180,000 people in protection centers in the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo, reported WFP country director Etienne Labande.
Highlighting UN food agencies’ deep understanding of the local context and their ability to coordinate with authorities and communities, Mr. Labande stressed that WFP’s presence on the ground was “essential” to ensure a rapid and effective response.
Meanwhile, in Haiti, at least 30 people died during the extreme weather generated by Melissa, according to authorities.
A boy receives support from a UNICEF worker in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica.
“An estimated 1.25 million people were affected by the hurricane”said Cuba’s national director.
Worse, ongoing relief efforts and aid delivery are further complicated by the ongoing humanitarian crisis and security vacuum created by armed groups that control the vast majority of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
“Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint”underlined M. Labande.
Despite severe funding shortages, access difficulties and logistical constraints, the UN and its partners continue to assess the damage and scale up efforts to reach people in need.
$74 million is urgently needed to provide lifesaving assistance to 1.1 million people in the Caribbean following the Melissa disaster, and to coordinate emergency logistics and telecommunications.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
