Jamaica to pull out of Haiti March 19

JAMAICA'S assistance to Haiti will end on March 19 making way for a Caribbean Community (Caricom) contingent to continue operations in the earthquake-ravaged country, Information Minister Daryl Vaz confirmed yesterday.

"Winding down of operations have begun and there is now a transition period to allow for other Caricom nations to take up where we left off," Vaz said at the Post-Cabinet briefing held yesterday at Jamaica House.

He said that the final rotation of a health team will return tomorrow, however the JDF team will remain to oversee the two-week transition period.

"The Jamaican contingent will be out of Haiti by the 19th," Vaz declared.

The information minister further disclosed that the amount spent in assistance to Haiti totalled some $40 million up to March 6.

Shortly after the January 12 earthquake, Jamaica offered assistance to Haiti spearheaded by the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) with the understanding that other Caricom nations would follow.

However, after almost three weeks in Port-au-Prince concerns heightened about the lack of assistance from Caricom, spurring comments from Vaz that the Jamaican contingent would pull out because of mounting costs.

At a February 4 Post-Cabinet press briefing, Vaz declared that the country had already spent close to $40 million on the Haitian relief efforts in the month of January alone.

However, Caricom Secretary General Edwin Carrington Caricom and head of the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency, Jeremy Collymore at the time told the Observer that they were 'in the dark' about any planned decision by the Jamaican Government to pull out.

Carrington added that while there were "logistical problems" in responding to specific needs, the reality was that Caricom in general remained committed, at varying levels, in responding to the immediate challenges to provide humanitarian aid to Haiti.

Yesterday Vaz said that other Caricom nations would now take over assistance, primarily in health-related issues.

"Caricom phase began March 6 and the JDF will remain in Haiti until the 19th to facilitate the changeover process," he told journalists.

Jamaica's assistance, during its stint in Haiti, includes a Ministry of Health/JDF collaboration that saw 300 surgical operations performed, Vaz said.

"We also processed over 3,000 patients in the medical facilities in and out of Port-au-Prince," the information minister added.

He said that during the period, approximately 517 Jamaicans providing assistance were flown between Kingston and Port-au-Prince.

Additional assistance took the form of a waiver on landing fees at Jamaica's airports for planes transporting supplies to Haiti, Vaz said.

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