The U.N. spokesperson said the secretary-general had spoken with Jamaica's prime minister and that international support is crucial as the country responds to Hurricane Melissa.

The briefing said the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) released $4,000,000 to scale up the U.N. response, focusing on food, health, water, shelter, logistics and sanitation and hygiene. The World Food Programme, with local support, is establishing a mobile storage unit in Santa Cruz, Saint Elizabeth Parish, to serve as a staging point for supplies moving west. WFP is providing food assistance to about 180,000 people, the briefing said. UNICEF has dispatched medical and hygiene kits sized to reach roughly 90,000 people; those kits include medicines, mosquito nets and oral rehydration salts.

Spokesperson Farhan described major logistical challenges in some affected areas caused by debris and destroyed roads and said assessments and coordination continue. The U.N. said nearly 300 health facilities and 600 schools have been significantly damaged and that some 25,000 people remain in shelters. The U.N. will provide more details on an emergency action plan focused on the eastern part of an island in a follow-up briefing, the spokesperson added.