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Hurricane Melissa: UN Appeals $74M to Aid 2.2M in Cuba
Food aid is prepared for delivery by the World Food Programe to communities in Cuba affected by Hurricane Melissa.
Around 2.2 million Cubans remain in urgent need of assistance across the eastern provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, and Guantanamo as the effects of Hurricane Melissa continue, UN aid workers said on Wednesday.
The UN system in Cuba has announced a formal Plan of Action in support of the government-led national response to help the country recover.
The plan focuses on health, water and sanitation, shelter, education, and early recovery, with special attention to the needs of women, children, and other vulnerable groups, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq highlighted.
The UN is appealing for $74 million to address the devastation caused by Melissa. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released $4 million in emergency funding ahead of the category 5 storm, while UN agencies have unlocked an additional $7 million. This leaves a funding gap of around $64 million to meet urgent needs.
16,000 Displaced in Haiti
In crisis-hit Haiti, approximately 16,000 people have been displaced, with 43 reported dead, dozens injured, and 13 still missing. In Petit-Goâve alone, 25 fatalities were recorded—the highest from the hurricane.
On Wednesday, OCHA, along with UN child and emergency food agencies, coordinated with local authorities and partners to strengthen the response.
The World Food Programme (WFP) requires around $18 million to assist nearly 190,000 people, allocated as follows:
Air service support: $469,000
Cash-based transfers: $6.7 million
Emergency telecommunications and logistics: $600,000
In-kind food assistance: 1,784 metric tonnes
WFP reported that 40 per cent of households in the hardest-hit communes now have a poor food consumption score, a 20 per cent increase since the disaster.
Despite the destruction, WFP’s early warning system proved effective:
3.5 million text messages sent to alert citizens
47,000 vulnerable people enrolled in safety nets
Nearly $1 million in anticipatory cash transfers delivered via mobile money
The UN and its humanitarian partners are stepping up aid response in the Grand Sud region, the area most severely impacted by Hurricane Melissa, OCHA added.