Hurricane Melissa Recovery: Direct Relief Delivers $11.5 Million in Aid to Caribbean Nations

Three months ago, Hurricane Melissa made initial landfall as a Category 5 storm near the southwestern Jamaican town of Black River before weakening and continuing across Cuba and the Bahamas. The hurricane - the strongest ever recorded to strike Jamaica - unleashed catastrophic winds and torrential rainfall, triggering widespread flooding and landslides and affecting more than 5 million people across the Caribbean, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In the storm's aftermath, officials confirmed 88 storm-related deaths, including 45 in Jamaica and 43 in Haiti, with several others still unaccounted for. The hurricane caused extensive damage to homes, health facilities, and critical infrastructure, disrupting essential services and driving widespread displacement. In Jamaica, five major hospitals and more than 100 health centers sustained damage, severely compromising access to care and essential medications.

At the height of the crisis, more than 60 percent of the country lost electricity, while water systems serving nearly half the country were down. In Cuba, response actors reported damage to nearly 650 healthcare facilities and more than 200,000 homes, and nearly 500,000 people, particularly in the southeastern province of Santiago de Cuba, experienced power and water outages for weeks following the storm.

Although Hurricane Melissa did not make landfall in the Dominican Republic or Haiti, heavy rainfall from the storm's outer bands caused significant flooding, damaged health facilities, and disrupted water distribution systems in both countries. Across the region, health authorities reported rising cases of water- and vector-borne diseases, such as chikungunya, cholera, and leptospirosis, driven by contaminated water supplies, limited sanitation services, and residual floodwaters that created ideal conditions for mosquito breeding.

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Direct Relief mobilized emergency response personnel to Jamaica to assess urgent health needs and coordinate the delivery of life-saving medical aid throughout the region. This included two chartered aircraft and one maritime vessel, collectively carrying 84 tons of essential medicines and medical supplies at the request of Jamaica's Ministry of Health and Wellness, along with multiple additional shipments to health partners in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.

In total, Direct Relief has delivered more than $11.5 million in aid to communities across Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. This includes more than $10.9 million in material medical aid and approximately $600,000 in grants to organizations working in Jamaica and Haiti.

Response in Action

Medical Material Assistance

Days before Hurricane Melissa made initial landfall in Jamaica, Direct Relief had already activated its emergency response protocols, coordinating closely with local partners and health authorities, placing emergency response personnel in the region on standby, and packing an initial tranche of medical aid, including 100 field medic packs for first responders and 250 hygiene kits, which was dispatched to Jamaica's Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW) ahead of the storm.

As soon as conditions allowed, a Direct Relief team touched down in Jamaica, conducting assessments and coordinating with local stakeholders to identify priority health needs. As the full scale of the humanitarian emergency became clear, and in close coordination with the MoHW, Direct Relief chartered a Boeing 757 cargo aircraft with more than 16 tons of emergency medical aid, including antibiotics, diabetes medicines, first aid items, and water purification tablets, to help backstop the country's health system during the acute, emergency phase. This initial charter arrived in Kingston on November 8, just 11 days after the storm's landfall.

As the response got underway, Direct Relief continued to work closely with the MoHW and Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management to support the government's efforts to restore healthcare access to communities across the hardest-hit parishes of western Jamaica.

On December 13, Direct Relief-in partnership with Carnival Corporation & plc, the Miami HEAT, and the Micky & Madeleine Arison Family Foundation-dispatched an additional 68 tons of critically needed medicines and medical supplies to Jamaica through a combination of air and sea transport, representing one of the largest private humanitarian responses supporting the country's relief and recovery.

As the response continued, Direct Relief coordinated closely with local health partners to integrate the requested aid into ongoing shipments. As of January 28, 2026, Direct Relief had delivered more than 25 shipments of requested medicines and medical supplies, valued at more than $10.9 million, to 13 organizations working in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. An additional shipment of 20 midwife kits-sufficient to support 1,000 facility-based safe births-for the Jamaican Midwives Association is currently underway.

Delivered aid includes:

• Essential medicines and supplies for chronic disease management, including insulin, antiseizure medications, and other treatments for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and respiratory conditions;
• Antibiotics to treat a range of infections;
• Critical medical equipment, such as AEDs, nebulizers, and portable ultrasound machines;
• Emergency health commodities, such as first aid items, hygiene kits, nutritionals, oral rehydration solutions, and water purification tablets;
• Personal protective equipment, such as heavy-duty boots, gloves, N95 respirators, and protective coveralls and goggles to reduce exposure to hazardous debris;
• Emergency shelter materials;
• Insect repellent to reduce vector-borne disease risks; and
• Field medic packs for first responders and mobile health teams.

Financial Assistance

In addition to medical material aid, Direct Relief has awarded nearly $600,000 in financial assistance to organizations working in Jamaica and Haiti. This funding has enabled partners to procure and distribute medicines, medical supplies, maternal and newborn care essentials, and other relief commodities; begin restoring essential health services; and strengthen clean, climate-resilient power systems for tertiary care facilities, ensuring these vital health centers have reliable access to power and can remain operational during grid repairs and future outages.

Looking Ahead

Three months on, recovery is underway across much of the region. In Jamaica, power and water services have been restored to more than 92 percent of customers and most health facilities have resumed service delivery. In Cuba, displacement numbers continue to decline, and essential health services are beginning to resume as rehabilitation of damaged health facilities continues. Across the Caribbean, communities are beginning the long process of rebuilding their lives and communities.

Nonetheless, recovery remains uneven. In western Jamaica, mobile medical units continue to fill critical access gaps, and many hospitals are operating beyond capacity. Health systems across affected countries are facing increasing psychosocial support needs, growing disease risks, and persistent service disruptions. In Haiti, inadequate health and water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies continue to undermine efforts to control cholera and other outbreaks. In Cuba, health authorities remain concerned about the increased transmission of arboviral diseases, including chikungunya, dengue, and Oropouche.

As the immediate emergency phase transitions to long-term recovery, Direct Relief remains committed to sustaining its engagement across the Caribbean. Working alongside trusted partners, such as the MoHW, the Pan American Health Organization, and community partners, Direct Relief will continue to support efforts to restore health services and ensure access to care.

With Gratitude to Donors

Direct Relief's response was made possible by the collective support of thousands of corporations, foundations, individuals, and other organizations that mobilized both financial and in-kind resources for hurricane-affected communities across the Caribbean.

This support enabled Direct Relief to act quickly and effectively, delivering essential medical resources and targeted financial assistance to the government agencies, healthcare providers, and non-profit partners leading response and recovery efforts.