Last week, an event of major significance unfolded at The University of the West Indies (UWI) Regional Headquarters in Mona, St Andrew, that was not shrouded in attention-seeking controversy or sensationalism, but should not pass without greater notice.

A group of Jamaica’s international development partners and representatives of the Government huddled at the Fourth Jamaica Development Partners Forum to chart a coordinated path for the country’s recovery following the fury that was Hurricane Melissa.

A central theme that emerged out of the deliberations, according to the organisers, was the importance of building resilient systems across the length and breadth of Jamaica, strengthening building codes and infrastructure, and ensuring that the information needed for an effective response to the disaster is fully integrated into all operations.

Everybody knows how difficult it is to get Jamaicans to work together on any national project, let alone one of the magnitude of the recovery from the devastation caused by the Category 5 hurricane. We have already seen copious evidence of the “cass-cass” that began almost immediately after the disaster hit on October 28, 2025.

What gives us hope in the success of this project, however, is the depth and quality of the partnership, as well as the objectivity that is ensured by inclusion of the United Nations and other partners aligning their support behind a single national recovery effort.

The totality of the Jamaica Development Partners Forum comprises the resident international development partners in Kingston to coordinate support to the Jamaican Government in line with Vision 2030 Jamaica and the medium-term socio-economic policy frameworks.

Members include the United Nations in Jamaica, the High Commission of Canada/Global Affairs Canada, the European Union, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the High Commission of the United Kingdom, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Embassy of the United States. The UN and Canada co-chair the group for the 2026 to 2027 period.

It should be noted that The UWI talks were underpinned by reports on the human, economic, and environmental toll of Hurricane Melissa, and the state of recovery to date, from the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.

Among the points of interest emerging from the forum is the fact that some 8,000 teachers and 152,000 students were affected by the hurricane, and that schools serve as the safest point in most communities, notably the newer schools built to higher standards which sustained the least damage.

The partners agreed that rebuilding to higher standards must be a guiding principle of recovery, so that what is built today protects communities tomorrow — something we have known forever but keep ignoring.

As expected, Jamaica’s National Recovery and Resilience Agency (NaRRA) took centre stage, with the participants underscoring the value of a single, prioritised national master plan based on the view that recovery on this scale cannot be run project by project.

We fully agree that NaRRA provides a place for all parties to act together for the good of all Jamaicans.