Kingston, 24 November 2025 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has mobilized an initial USD 2 million in Resilient Recovery grants to support Jamaica’s recovery from Hurricane Melissa, aiming to restore community life, livelihoods, and advance the national vision for a resilient recovery. The grants follow a recent surge mission by UNDP’s global and regional crisis response teams, in collaboration with the Multi-Country Office in Jamaica, which consulted government, civil society, private sector, multilateral development banks, UN agencies, and local communities to identify critical needs. The effort was led by Mr. Ronald Jackson, UNDP Global Head of Disaster Risk Reduction, Recovery, and Resilience.
UNDP’s support focuses on stabilizing affected communities, restoring livelihoods of vulnerable groups, and assisting national authorities in implementing Jamaica’s ‘Building Forward Better’ vision, which integrates resilience into recovery planning. At the national level, UNDP is contributing to long-term recovery planning and governance, providing post-hurricane impact assessments, including root cause analyses and evaluations of human impacts. Kishan Khoday, UNDP Resident Representative in Jamaica, emphasized the importance of integrating climate-resilient, risk-informed, and nature-based solutions, alongside digital and geospatial tools, to make recovery assets more future-proof amid increasingly severe climate disasters.
Community stabilization efforts include the cleanup and management of an estimated 4.8 million metric tonnes of debris, with recycling opportunities facilitated through cash-for-work programs that provide income to unemployed residents and improve access for national relief teams. UNDP is also prioritizing support for the recovery of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by providing grants, technical assistance, market connectivity, and sustainable finance solutions such as low-interest loans and guarantees. Solar power installations, resilient re-roofing, and other critical community infrastructure needs are included in the recovery measures, supported by mobile and community-based Technical Assistance Centers offering on-the-spot guidance to integrate resilience into rebuilding processes.
The initial USD 2 million grant complements UNDP’s immediate crisis response allocations and contributions from the CARICOM Development Fund and the European Union. Additional grant assistance of up to USD 8 million is being considered through realignment of ongoing UNDP programs in Jamaica. These funds would support nature-based and climate-resilient recovery in the tourism sector, capacity development for ecosystem restoration, integrated land management in western regions, and civil society initiatives to strengthen long-term community and ecosystem resilience.
Dr. Khoday highlighted that Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica on 28 October as a category five storm, caused catastrophic damage to lives, livelihoods, infrastructure, forests, agricultural fields, and coastal ecosystems in the island’s western regions. He stressed that supporting a resilience-based recovery is both strategically essential and a matter of climate justice for Small Island Developing States facing mounting loss and damage from global climate change. UNDP’s efforts build on over 50 years of presence in Jamaica and aim to support the government and communities in achieving a durable, climate-resilient recovery.
