KINGSTON, Jamaica – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS), on Tuesday launched a cash assistance programme for Jamaicans severely impacted by category 5 Hurricane Melissa in October.

In a release the WFP shared that the programme will reach some 50,000 people and is part of WFP’s phased approach to support affected communities. It marks a significant shift in the post-hurricane response towards recovery and resilience, after the first phase of the response focused on the distribution of emergency food packs to 123,000 vulnerable people in the parishes of St Elizabeth, St James, Trelawny and Westmoreland.

The cash assistance programme will also be extended to Hannover. Households that were identified as vulnerable by MLSS, using the Jamaica Household Damage, Impact and Needs Assessment (JHDINA) tool, will receive cash support to aid recovery and help families rebuild their livelihoods and food security.

“For families who lost homes and livelihoods, cash for food assistance offers more than relief – it gives them power to choose,” said Brian Bogart, representative and county director for WFP’s Caribbean Multi-Country Office. “Cash assistance empowers households to meet continued food and related needs. By placing resources directly in the hands of those affected, WFP is supporting the government to restore their independence and dignity at a time when so much has been taken away.”

As markets, shops and small businesses gradually reopen across western Jamaica, cash assistance is expected to act as a catalyst for economic recovery, stimulating demand, supporting local vendors, and accelerating the return to normalcy for affected communities.

“As Minister, I have seen first-hand the challenges so many families are facing in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, and I am profoundly inspired by their strength,” said Pearnel Charles Jr., Jamaica’s Minister of Labour and Social Security. “Ensuring that our most vulnerable households receive timely support is not just a mandate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, it is a responsibility that I hold close to my heart. I deeply value our partnership with the World Food Programme, which allows us to reach affected Jamaicans with speed and compassion, and in a manner that preserves their dignity. Together, we stand shoulder to shoulder with every family on the road to recovery, committed to helping our communities rise stronger than before.”

WFP is also supporting Jamaica’s long-term recovery following Hurricane Melissa by working on a series of initiatives to restore farmlands and fisheries to revive incomes, improve nutrition, and stabilise markets. Additionally, WFP has ensured that US$ 1.9 million from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) will be paid out to vulnerable people impacted by the storm through the national social protection system as part of its disaster risk financing partnership with the government of Jamaica.

The cash assistance programme has been made possible through the generous support of the World Food Programme donors, including the governments of Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the European Union, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), as well as from private donors like the XO Fund, the Bank of America and Flex/Tiwilio Inc., and WFP Immediate Response Account.