Canadian singer and songwriter The Weeknd has donated US$350,000 from his XO Humanitarian Fund to relief efforts in Jamaica following the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa on sections of the Caribbean island.

This was announced by the World Food Program (WFP) in a media statement on Thursday, November 13. The donation will support WFP as it scales up operations to reach up to 200,000 Jamaicans as they recover from the disaster.

“We are grateful to The Weeknd for his generous support for WFP’s urgent relief efforts. His compassion will provide much needed comfort and resilience to Jamaicans as they navigate this crisis,” said Barron Segar, World Food Program USA president and CEO. “When it comes to humanitarian disasters, WFP is among the world’s first responders. But our work is only possible through the generosity of our private sector donors and global partners.”

Hurricane Melissa impacted almost six million people across the Caribbean islands at the end of October, with Jamaica bearing the brunt of the Category 5 storm.

The WFP has been working alongside the Jamaican government to assist the most vulnerable and worst affected families to meet their urgent food needs.

So far, more than 9,000 people have been reached with food kits containing rice, lentils, canned fish and meat, and vegetable oil. Across Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti, WFP has reached 254,00 people with emergency food distributions.