2025 © AP Photo/Matias Delacroix
Jamaica
MSF teams continue to support Hurricane Melissa response
November 13, 2025 — Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams continue to support Jamaica’s Ministry of Health in the response to Hurricane Melissa, focusing on St. James and St. Elisabeth parishes. We are providing assistance through mobile clinics and restoring health facilities damaged in the hurricane.
We are also providing water and sanitation support in areas where the water supply has been destroyed, and distributing hygiene kits to people in emergency shelters and hard-to-reach areas. After hurricanes, there is often a high risk of diseases like dengue, so MSF teams are also supporting vector control activities to contain potential outbreaks.
Our Work in Jamaica
On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, the devastating Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica, causing flooding and widespread destruction. The hurricane is now affecting Cuba and other countries in the region.
While Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is not currently present in Jamaica, we are preparing to send emergency teams specializing in health care, logistics, and water and sanitation when possible, as the airport remains closed as of October 29. Our teams are also preparing to send supplies such as medical kits, non-food items, and critical materials for the provision of safe water, depending on the needs identified.
What's happening in Jamaica?
Natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis can cause widespread destruction and mass displacement, as well as create ideal environments for the spread of disease. Places experiencing conflict, disease outbreaks, or economic instability are particularly vulnerable, as the effects of natural disasters can exacerbate existing crises.
How MSF responds to natural disasters
MSF is often one of the first organizations on the ground when a natural disaster strikes. Our teams travel by car, train, boat, or helicopter to dispatch mobile clinics to areas in and around disaster zones, providing displaced people with medical and psychological first aid, essential relief items like tents and blankets, and routine health care for people with chronic conditions. We also mobilize our global logistics network to support local health facilities with essential medicines and supplies and help local staff provide specialized treatment.
More news and stories
Learn about MSF’s journalistic roots and our commitment to bear witness and speak out about the plight of the people we treat.
Learn about MSF’s journalistic roots and our commitment to bear witness and speak out about the plight of the people we treat.
How you can help
Not everyone can treat patients in emergencies. But everyone can do something.
Some humanitarian crises make the headlines—others don’t. Unrestricted support from our donors allows us to mobilize quickly and efficiently to provide lifesaving medical care to the people who need it most, whether those needs are in the spotlight or not. And your donation is 100 percent tax-deductible.
