WFP launches Cash Assistance Programme to support Jamaica recover from Hurricane Beryl

The Beryl Cash Assistance Programme targets 18,000 people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Beryl in early July. The programme will provide relief and support to families in their recovery, ensuring access to food, water and other essential needs. Families with children, elderly people and persons with disabilities will be prioritized.

“The WFP is committed to its partnership with the Government of Jamaica to support people impacted by Hurricane Beryl. We are happy to know that this cash assistance will help families to meet their most essential needs and rebuild their lives,” said Brian Bogart, Country Director of the WFP Caribbean Multi-Country Office.

Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 season and the strongest July hurricane on record, made landfall in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, leaving widespread devastation in its path, before moving westwards across the Caribbean and hitting Jamaica.

Participants will receive their cash assistance through money transfer services over two months. The amount they receive will depend on the household size. For instance, one to two persons will receive US$120 (JMD $20,000) per month; three to five persons will receive US$240 (JMD $36,000) per month, and six to more persons will receive US$340 (JMD $50,000) per month.

In the wake of Beryl’s impact on Jamaica, WFP provided emergency generators to the Government to address widespread power outages, deployed the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster or ETC –a global network of organizations that provide emergency communications services—to re-establish internet connectivity in the worst affected areas, and provided emergency logistics.

The Beryl Cash Assistance Programme is made possible through the generous support of the Government of Canada, the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), UK Aid from the UK Government and USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).

In addition, as part of the Canada-CARICOM Climate Adaptation Fund, Jamaica has increased its Excess Rainfall and Tropical Cyclone insurance policies with the Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF SPC). WFP is helping the government to implement additional cash transfer programmes for people using a portion of the payouts from those policies.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

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