The United Nations (UN) will make available four million dollars (around 3.5 million euros) for urgent aid to the population affected by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaicaone of those responsible announced this Sunday.
The head of UN Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, explained that “four million dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund were allocated to get urgent help to people affected by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica.”
This amount “will allow UN agencies and their partners to increase aid that will be decisive”, highlighted Tom Fletcher, in a message published on his X social network account.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, spoke this Sunday with the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, conveying his solidarity with the Government and the population of the country “in the face of the devastation caused by the hurricane”.
António Guterres highlighted that international support is crucial in situations like this and called for the mobilization of resources to respond to the damage caused by the hurricane.
The Prime Minister of Jamaica announced this Sunday an increase in psychological support services, telling Jamaicans that “it’s okay not to be okay” and that they should not hesitate to ask for help.
The new death toll due to the windstorm and heavy rain already points to more than 50, most of them in Haiti, where 30 are confirmed and 18 are missing, while 28 deaths were reported in Jamaica.
Category 5 Hurricane Melissa hit the coast of Jamaica on Tuesday, with catastrophic damage reported to homes and critical infrastructure such as hospitals.
The hurricane also affected Panama, where four people died, the Dominican Republic, with one death, and Cuba.