Charles details shift to needs-based hurricane relief
Published:Friday | November 21, 2025 | 12:10 AMCorey Robinson/Senior Staff Reporter
As of yesterday, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, working with the Jamaica Defence Force and other partners, had made 138 air and ground drops with relief for communities that remain inaccessible.
It also dispatched 59,320 food packages, mainly to Westmoreland, St James, Trelawny, Hanover, St Ann, and Manchester as it moved to a more synergised and “synchronised distribution approach”, according to Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr.
“This figure does not account for the entirety of all packages that have been dispatched, and we have thousands more packages that have been delivered that are not within the remit of our strict accounting formalities,” he added while addressing a press conference on Thursday.
Charles noted that each package typically supports a family of three for one week.
He added that unlike the initial emergency response, which prioritised speed, current distributions are now scheduled according to need, on-the-ground assessments, and feedback from field teams and affected residents. In addition to food items such as canned proteins, vegetables, cornmeal, crackers, rice, sugar, and oil, relief packages now include hygiene kits, tarpaulins, cleaning supplies, and tabletop stoves.
“All guided by their needs,” stressed Charles. “For example, you may be in one community which requires food packages, but another community, based on their circumstances, they are not marooned, but they need cleaning agents, as with Catherine Hall, where their significant issue is that there was an influx of mud and water that went into the houses and vehicles, so [they] need cleaning supplies,” he said as he lauded the private sector for its involvement in recovery efforts.
Charles said all sectors of the country must pull together at this time even as he urged private stakeholders to coordinate and communicate with the Government for a more streamlined approach to distributing relief items.
As for household damage, Charles noted that the ministry has completed more than 17,000 household-damage assessments.
“Priority one is to assess the occupants of shelters across the country. Two is to move to any unofficial shelters such as churches and other homes where persons accommodated others. Three is to move to the highly affected areas, particularly where there is significantly amount of destroyed homes; and then on and on down the line, including our own web-based self-reporting,” he said, adding that the ministry had been proactive in restoring connectivity.
“Through Starlink, we have acquired a number of devices that have been installed across all of our parish offices with the help of our stakeholders. This has significantly improved the Wi-Fi connectivity and the delivery of service ... . Ninety-six per cent of the completed assessments have already been entered into our platform, and so far, they indicate that 47,000 persons have been affected. Senior citizens, other vulnerable groups, and their caregivers are among the top priorities,” he said.
In the meantime, Charles said the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has created an oversight committee to coordinate all staff-welfare initiatives tied to Hurricane Melissa.
The move is aimed at ensuring transparency in the distribution of relief items as he outlined that more than 100 team members within the ministry were severely affected by the hurricane. At least eight of those persons lost everything, including their homes, furniture, and all personal belongings.
They were, particularly, members of the first responders, he said.
“For some time, it was difficult for all of us because we were not even able to contact some of the members. We went into their neighbourhoods, and they were not there. You try them on the phone, and you can’t get them. But I can report that all of our staff members who have been affected have now been located, identified, and we have advanced the necessary relief to many of them,” said Charles.
He added that the ministry would also provide counselling and flexible work arrangements to help employees to cope.
Immediate priorities in the next 72 hours, according to Charles
1. Sustain daily dispatches of relief supplies.
2. Maintain support with JDF on missions to isolated areas.
3. Continue to prioritise support for seniors, pregnant and other vulnerable groups.
4. Rapidly advance the completion of household assessments.