Source: United Nations (video statements)
World Food Programme (WFP) is working on the recovery and rehabilitation with countries in the Caribbean after Hurricane Melissa, urging investing more on anticipatory actions to climate shocks, a WFP senior official said.
WFP’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean Region, Lola Castro, briefed reporters from Port au Prince, Haiti today via video link.
On Haiti, Castro said that the Programme managed to distribute in advance cash transfers to over 50,000 people to prepare for the storm.
On the overall situation in the region, the Reginal Director said, “What we are trying to do now, after reaching over 725,000 people in the four affected countries, most affected countries in the region, World Food Program we are trying now to really work on the recovery and rehabilitation through a number of tools. Homegrown, school feeding; working with the governments on social protection systems that register everybody who is affected by these shocks.”
She reiterated the importance of investing more on anticipatory action. Castro said that the Programme this time managed to do cash transfers, to send messages, to move the food from eastern Cuba to western Cuba and other non-food items before the storm strike, and then to help the people in immediate hours of the aftermath of the storm.
Asked about humanitarian access in Haiti, Castro said that 90 percent of Port-au-Prince is occupied by gangs – making it “very, very difficult” to move by road.
“But we have an excellent UN security and access teams that negotiates the access of humanitarian assets, not only food but also water, medication, other needs that the population has,” she added.
The Regional Director reiterated, “It is extremely important to understand that we follow all humanitarian principles, and we basically are targeting very vulnerable, affected populations.”
Castro also said, “We ensure that that food reaches the people with our teams and with the NGOs and the civil society that ensure that the food and the non-food items also for other UN agencies reaches the people.”
She explained, “We have monitors on the ground, we have presence on the ground, and we confirm this happens,” adding that it’s “extremely difficult. It’s very dangerous.”
The Regional Director also said the access in Haiti is “very complicated and it’s not getting better unfortunately.”
Moving onto Jamaica, Castro said that the situation is “very, very delicate.”
She said, “we have been trying to work together with the government in both a mix of in-kind distributions, but also moving all these people into the social protection system of the government so that they can receive cash transfers if possible before Christmas. So they can as the markets are restarting already, they can go and buy what they need to restart their lives and livelihoods.”
On Cuba, the WPF official said, “there is quite a big challenge. And also access roads and infrastructure has been heavily damaged in Cuba, including the electricity that is barely working in this area while the government is trying to restart.”
She added, “initially we started with around 185,000 people receiving the first days in the shelters, and almost 800,000 people were moved to shelters in Cuba, so there was no loss of life, which is very fortunate. The preparedness works. They are very well on that. And 185,000 people receive immediate food now.”