THE Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) says it is aiming to wrap up all Hurricane Melissa-related household damage assessments within the next four weeks as the roll-out of new technology is expected to accelerate relief efforts for thousands of families.

“I’m very proud to say that the recent reports show that we have done more than 83,000 household assessments. These households have been visited by our social workers, our volunteers, and staff members across government. This is clear proof that when you adjust your system and your protocols and your processes and you include innovation and technology it drives efficiency and makes you much more effective,” said portfolio minister Pearnel Charles Jr at the MLSS headquarters in Kingston on Tuesday.

He was speaking at the handover ceremony where the Universal Service Fund (USF) delivered the first 200 of 1,000 tablets to the ministry, which, Charles Jr said, will be used by social workers and assessment teams operating across hurricane-hit areas.

According to Charles Jr, the tablets are expected to significantly speed up data collection and reporting, allowing assessment teams to transmit information in real time and reduce delays associated with paper-based systems.

Six weeks after Hurricane Melissa’s assault on the western region of the island, the minister reported that more than 50,000 household damage assessments were completed, more than double the number carried out in eight months following Hurricane Beryl in 2024.

On Tuesday, the minister told the Jamaica Observer that work has not stopped since then, confidently declaring that he expected assessments to be complete within the next month, with the commissioned tablets helping to fast-track data collection and other operations.

“We’re far ahead, I must tell you. Just to put it in context — in the eight months that we used for Hurricane Beryl, we only did between 18,000 and 19,000 [assessments], and we are now at what? Within three months, we’re at almost 90,000. So I really want to acknowledge our workers. The technology has boosted us. This is going to continue to increase the effectiveness of the delivery of our service,” said Charles Jr.

He added that much of the ministry’s assessment work was done using borrowed equipment which limited capacity.

“Most of the tablets that we were using before now are borrowed. So these tablets are ours. So we can actually bring this into the fleet and return the ones that we’ve borrowed. This is now going to be an additional amount to help to boost the completion of our assessments. We’re hoping that we can complete the assessments within the next four weeks at least,” Charles Jr declared.

The minister told guests at the ceremony that it was of paramount importance to complete household assessments as quickly as possible, pointing out that people affected by the Category 5 storm were still vulnerable and in need of urgent assistance.

“This is not just about the number of tablets, it’s about the relevance of this partnership now to the national response of getting communities back to where they need to be. When I went out to Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, Trelawny, St James, and Hanover, I saw the families walking in White House (Westmoreland) and standing up in front of a shell of what was their house. You see father, mother, children, and there is no room — as a father the first thing that comes to mind is what will happen when night falls?

“So we have to move with alacrity to get these things done so that we can help our people to get back to safety, and we have to do it in a way that is resilient. And I say this just to make sure that this official handover of the 200 of 1,000 tablets is understood as an occasion that represents a significant element in our national effort to recover from Hurricane Melissa,” explained Charles Jr.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of the USF Charlton McFarlane reaffirmed its commitment to leveraging technology to improve public service delivery and national resilience.

McFarlane pointed out that the donation forms part of a broader Government strategy to modernise service delivery, moving from paper-based systems to real-time digital platforms, and from fragmented responses to coordinated, data-driven national action.