The United Nations is keeping the fight against Hurricane Melissa’s damage going strong two weeks after the storm first slammed into the Caribbean. UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in a daily briefing that the UN’s coordination office is still rolling out help to Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti.
In Cuba, the UN says the number of badly hit health facilities has jumped from 460 to over 600. Homes with damage have risen from 60,000 to about 90,000, Haq added. The U.N. system, working alongside the Cuban government, is delivering a mix of services. The World Food Programme (WFP) has helped roughly 140,000 people in shelters and is running community kitchens. The Food and Agriculture Organisation is handing out farming tools and livestock feed to get livelihoods back on track. The Pan American Health Organisation is sending medical supplies to control disease, while the U.N. Population Fund is pitching in with reproductive‑health kits.
Jamaica’s response is moving forward too. Assessment teams have cleared the path for most communities—only two still remain out of reach, down from 27 last week. WFP has already assisted 9,000 people in Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth, and plans to expand cash aid to as many as 90,000 households, according to Xinhua.
Haiti has suffered the hardest, with Hurricane Melissa killing more than 40 people and wrecking infrastructure across several provinces. UNICEF and partners have distributed hygiene kits nationwide and restored power to keep vaccines cold. The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation is offering psychosocial help in schools, while the International Organisation for Migration, UNICEF and other groups have supplied tarpaulins and other essential gear.
In the most badly affected southern parts of Haiti, the WFP is delivering 15‑day food rations today, right after the government finished a needs‑assessment to pinpoint those most in need. The UN remains on the ground, coordinating relief and helping communities rebuild after the hurricane’s wake.
Source: ianslive
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