Following Hurricane Melissa which has devastated western Jamaica, the World Health Organisation and other groups on Sunday sent medical teams to the country, and the United States says its emergency response teams are on the ground.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres “emphasised that international support is crucial at this time,” and called for the “mobilisation of massive resources” to address the loss and damage, a spokesman for the secretary-general said Sunday in a statement.
The UN has allocated $4 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to help scale up humanitarian operations in Jamaica.
The head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) for the Americas and the Caribbean, Nahuel Arenas, said the staggering economic losses will be a “burden” weighing on Jamaica and the rest of the region for years
“It is estimated that Melissa could cause economic losses equivalent to Jamaica’s annual GDP. These are losses that will weigh heavily on the economy of all Jamaicans for years and years to come,” Arenas said on Sunday in Panama
According to the World Bank, the gross domestic product of Jamaica stood at nearly $20 billion in 2024.
