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Nakinskie Robinson reports
Five major international financial institutions have assembled a US$6.7 billion package, just over J$1 trillion, to support Jamaica's recovery and reconstruction following Hurricane Melissa.
The support, which will be over three years, was announced on Monday.
The institutions involved are the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group.
The World Bank, in coordination with the IDB, estimates that Hurricane Melissa caused US$8.8 billion, which is about J$1.42 trillion in physical damage to the country. That's equivalent to 41% of the country's 2024 GDP, making it the costliest hurricane in the nation's recorded history.
The newly announced support package combines emergency financing; sovereign loans, which are funds borrowed by a country's government from other countries, international organisations or private institutions; grant support; and private sector investment.
In a joint statement, the groups said this coordinated effort reflects a unified commitment to help Jamaica pursue a fiscally responsible long-term recovery. It said the package follows a request from Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness.
The announcement comes ahead of a call that Dr. Holness will hold with representatives from the international financial institutions to discuss implementation plans.
The institutions said Jamaica's robust disaster risk financing framework enabled a rapid flow of funds to meet urgent response needs.
Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica on October 28 as a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest to hit the island, killing at least 45 people and devastating western Jamaica.
Prime Minister Holness has announced that a body, the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NARA),
will be established under law to lead the reconstruction.
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