“We cannot forget Haiti“, said Lola Castro, speaking from the capital, Port-au-Prince, while also appealing to Jamaica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
More than 80 people were killed and around six million were affected by this Category 5 hurricane, one of the most intense ever recorded in the Atlantic.
The top humanitarian official placed particular emphasis on Haiti, which is already grappling with challenges such as gang violence, mainly in the capital, and food insecurity.
Around 5.7 million people – more than half the population – are hungry and 1.4 million people are displaced across the country.
Fleeing through rivers of mud
Hurricane Melissa dumped heavy rains on southern Haiti, affecting 1.2 million people.
Ms. Castro came straight from the town of Petit-Goâve, where the river overflowed and “people had to escape from their homes in the middle of the night through rivers of mud.” Twenty-five residents died.
She met “women and men in total distress” who are trying to rebuild their lives after losing their loved ones, their homes, their livelihoods, their crops and their livestock.
PAMalongside other UN agencies, NGOs and government, were on the ground “from day one” providing food and then cash transfers, which allow people to make their own purchasing decisions.
The women told him they would use the cash transfers to buy food, soap and other immediate needs.
“We also spoke with a group of organized young people who are trying to help these communities restart their lives,” she continued.
“And what they ask is: “Please don’t forget us. Don’t forget us, because a month and a half (ago) we were all over the news, but now we need continued support.
Recovery and rehabilitation
The hurricane also caused catastrophic damage in western Jamaica and eastern Cuba, and WFP assisted more than 725,000 people in the four countries.
“We are now trying to really work on recovery and rehabilitation through a number of tools,” Ms. Castro said, such as school feeding programs and supporting government efforts to strengthen social protection by registering all those affected by the disaster.
“But what is very clear in Haiti and across the region is that we need to invest much more, as we have this time, in anticipatory action.”
Advance preparation is essential
WFP undertook extensive emergency preparedness work before the hurricane struck.
These measures included sending messages informing Haitians of the impending storm, affecting some 3.5 million people across the country, and distributing cash advances to more than 50,000 people. The teams present in Cuba also transported food aid from the east of the island to the west.
“But we need to do much more in this direction,” she said. “We also need to make sure our simulations and preparation mechanisms are ready. »
Strengthening community resilience
Ms. Castro cited examples such as microinsurance payments, which allow Haitian small farmers – who supply food used in WFP’s “locally produced” school meal programs – to continue producing.
“These are new mechanisms and tools that we need to do much more in the region, in the Caribbean, because we know that every year there will be hurricanes or earthquakes, like we saw last year in Cuba,” she said.
“We really need to redouble our efforts to build the resilience of these populations who are continuously affected so that food insecurity does not become a trend. but it is reduced, with communities working for themselves and building their own resilience.
WFP is seeking $83 million to help 1.3 million people affected by Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean. and approximately half of the funding has been received.
Publicado anteriormente en Almouwatin.
