Coordination of Relief Bolstered by Support from UNOPS

The Government’s coordination of relief in response to Hurricane Melissa will be bolstered by support from the United Nations Office for Project Service (UNOPS).

The disclosure was made by Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, during Thursday’s (November 6) special press briefing, focused on recovery from category-five Hurricane Melissa, at Jamaica House.

“On the request of the Government of Jamaica, UNOPS is here and UNOPS is going to be assisting us in coordinating the relief efforts that are afoot. They have a lot of experience in terms of coordination,” she said.

Dr. Morris Dixon shared that there are a lot of goods and equipment coming into the country that are going to many different donor agencies.

“There are so many donor agencies that are operating in Jamaica and the key thing is we want to have everything joined up and coordinated, and so that’s why we’re using international experts through UNOPS to assist the country. So, the Government has invited UNOPS to help us to coordinate, not just government but also the plethora of private donor entities that are operating in the country,” she explained.

The Minister underscored that it is critical to get goods and food to those who need it but it is important to reduce duplication of efforts.

“Sometimes you have multiple donor agencies going to the same community, so what you want is to have that much better coordinated and we thank the United Nations for their support in that respect,” she said.

UNOPS was established in 1995 against a backdrop of calls for the United Nations system to reduce duplication, improve efficiency and effectiveness and establish more businesslike approaches to cost and quality of service.