Letter of the Day | Financing protection for Jamaica’s children when disaster strikes

THE EDITOR, Madam:

As Jamaica begins a new school year during hurricane season, families face mounting pressures. Hurricanes threaten homes and livelihoods, while drought conditions linked to El Niño and limited water access continue to disrupt daily life. For children, these overlapping challenges can mean missed classes, poor nutrition, and increased risks of neglect and violence. The question is no longer whether Jamaica needs stronger social protection systems, but how quickly they can be financed and expanded to protect children.

Jamaica’s social safety net, led by the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), remains one of the country’s most important tools for supporting vulnerable families. The programme provides predictable assistance that helps children remain in school, access healthcare, and maintain stability during difficult periods.

However, recent disasters have shown that routine support alone is insufficient. Events such as Hurricane Beryl and Hurricane Melissa highlighted the need for rapid, flexible, and child-sensitive assistance during emergencies. Emergency cash top-ups delivered through PATH have proven effective, helping families replace essential items, purchase food, access healthcare, and recover lost income in the aftermath of disasters.

Children are affected by disasters in ways that differ from adults. School closures, disruptions in nutrition, loss of early childhood stimulation, exposure to violence, and long-term developmental setbacks can have lasting consequences. A child-responsive approach to disaster financing ensures emergency resources are tailored to these realities by prioritising food, infant supplies, transportation, healthcare, and safe living conditions.

One of Jamaica’s strengths is its use of existing government systems, supported by international development partners, to deliver emergency assistance. Rather than creating parallel structures, this approach reduces administrative costs, improves transparency, reaches vulnerable communities more effectively, and strengthens long-term resilience. To succeed, however, it requires reliable financing and the capacity to scale support quickly when disasters occur.

To build on these gains, Jamaica should consider establishing a Child-Responsive Disaster Budget. Such an approach would embed child-focused priorities into national planning and financing through dedicated emergency budget lines, flexible mechanisms to rapidly expand PATH benefits, improved data systems to identify children at greatest risk, and stronger coordination among ministries, donors, and humanitarian partners.

Investing in children before, during, and after disasters is both a moral obligation and a sound economic strategy. As climate-related shocks become more frequent, Jamaica has an opportunity to lead the Caribbean in child-responsive social protection financing. With the right investments, policies, and partnerships, the country can ensure that no child is left behind when disaster strikes and that families can recover with dignity and hope.

André Miller

Social Policy Specialist

United Nations Children’s

Fund (UNICEF) Jamaica