One month after Hurricane Melissa devastated the Caribbean, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has reached over half a million people with emergency food assistance and is now pivoting toward long-term recovery. Working closely with governments and communities, WFP is not only providing immediate relief but also laying the groundwork for resilience through cash-based support where markets are functioning, restoring livelihoods, and repairing essential services.
In Jamaica, WFP has delivered emergency food aid to more than 108,000 people, addressing the most urgent needs identified by national authorities. With additional funding, the agency plans to reach another 100,000 people with cash assistance, offering families greater choice while stimulating local market recovery. Market assessments in St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, and St. James indicate that local markets are gradually bouncing back, paving the way for these cash-based interventions. Through a disaster risk financing partnership, US$1.9 million from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) will be distributed to vulnerable Jamaicans via the national social protection system. WFP is also supporting the revival of agriculture and fisheries to restore incomes and nutrition, including initiatives like home-grown school meals that use locally produced food.
In Cuba, emergency food distributions have reached 340,000 people across Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Holguín provinces. WFP aims to scale up to assist 900,000 people over six months, with 450,000 of the most vulnerable receiving food aid for a full year. Thousands remain without electricity, clean water, or adequate shelter, and the storm destroyed nearly 40 percent of the country’s vegetable production while severely damaging the fishing industry. Challenging terrain and floodwaters continue to slow aid delivery, and outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases threaten both staff and affected communities.
Haiti faces an even deeper crisis, where half the population is already food insecure amid ongoing instability. Hurricane Melissa destroyed homes, infrastructure, and farmland along the southern coast, affecting 1.25 million people, including more than 500,000 who were severely food insecure before the hurricane. WFP has reached 139,000 people with food rations and cash assistance, including anticipatory payments provided before the hurricane struck. The agency plans to assist an additional 95,000 people, despite rising insecurity and poor road conditions slowing operations. Food support will continue for two more months, after which early recovery efforts will focus on rebuilding livelihoods and strengthening community resilience.
Regionally, WFP has dispatched nearly 2,500 metric tons of food and essential supplies from its Caribbean Regional Logistics Hub in Barbados and the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Panama. EU-funded airbridges, French and Dutch naval vessels, and coordination with the US military have helped transport aid to isolated communities cut off by flooding and landslides.
To sustain life-saving assistance for up to 1.36 million people across the Caribbean, WFP is appealing for US$83 million. These funds will support not only food and cash assistance but also logistics, telecommunications, non-food items, and air services. Pre-disaster preparations—including early warnings, prepositioned stocks, and livelihood protection measures—have already helped save lives and will continue to support recovery efforts in the months ahead.
