The Jamaican Consulate in New York will convene an all-day conference at its Midtown Manhattan headquarters today, bringing together key stakeholders to discuss how Jamaica can build back better following the devastation of Hurricane Melissa.
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness is scheduled to address the conference, themed ‘Recover Better: Mobilising the Diaspora for Jamaica’s National Reconstruction and Resilience’.
Several government ministers – including those with responsibility for agriculture and education, as well as Robert Montague, minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister – will also participate.
The all-day session will bring together diaspora investors, developers, financial professionals, and community leaders from across the New York metropolitan area.
“This conference is about presenting what is real, what is ready, and what is possible. Jamaica’s reconstruction is not a future plan – it is under way. NaRRA (National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority) is being stood up. The financing is assembled. What we need now is for the diaspora to step forward with the same seriousness and urgency that the moment demands,” said Ariel Bowen, officer-in-charge at the consulate in New York.
GAP AND SCALE
The one-day forum is designed to place Jamaica’s national reconstruction agenda – along with specific investment and partnership opportunities – directly before a curated group of diaspora stakeholders.
According to the consulate, the ‘Recover Better’ conference responds to the gap between the scale of Jamaica’s reconstruction needs and the pace at which diaspora capital, expertise, and goodwill have been mobilised.
Attendance is limited to 70 participants, all selected or screened for their capacity to contribute meaningfully to the recovery effort.
The conference opens at 9:30 a.m. with remarks from Bowen, followed by a framing presentation on the mandate and structure of the NaRRA by Trudy Deans, senior adviser to the prime minister.
Three sector-focused sessions will then outline needs and investment opportunities in key areas:
Agriculture and Food Security will be led by Agriculture Minister Floyd Green, with presentations from Dr David Lowe of the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and Vivion Scully of the Agro-Investment Corporation. The session will be moderated by Norma Jarrett, president of the Ole Farmers Association of North America.
Education and Skills Development will be led by Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon, minister of education, skills, youth and information, with a presentation on school infrastructure reconstruction from the National Education Trust. Dr Anthony Munroe, president of the Borough of Manhattan Community College, will moderate.
Housing and Urban Renewal will be led by Montague, with a presentation from Demoy Kerr, Crown counsel for NaRRA. The session will be moderated by Christopher Chaplin, honorary consul for Jamaica in Pennsylvania.
The afternoon will feature a dedicated diaspora engagement session, moderated by Dr Karren Dunkley, a former member of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council (GJDC). Structured as a round-table discussion, it will explore how diaspora partners can invest, volunteer, deploy professional skills, and contribute philanthropically to Jamaica’s recovery.
Presenters will include Nicola Russell of the DBJ, Michelle Tulloch-Neil of the GJDC, and Shaune Anthony Brown, commerce lead of the GJDC.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Jamaica’s western coast on October 28, 2025 as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour – the most destructive natural disaster in the country’s recorded history.
LOSS AND DAMAGE
The Planning Institute of Jamaica estimates total damage, losses, and additional costs at US$12.2 billion, equivalent to 56.7 per cent of Jamaica’s 2024 GDP. More than 156,000 homes were damaged, including approximately 24,000 that were completely destroyed.
The agricultural belt across western parishes – St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St James, St Ann, and Trelawny – bore the brunt of the storm, devastating the livelihoods of more than 70,000 farmers. Critical infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and utilities, also sustained widespread damage.
At least 45 lives were lost, and hundreds of thousands of residents were left without electricity or water for weeks.
The tourism sector, which contributes more than 30 per cent of GDP and employs roughly 175,000 people, was also significantly disrupted, particularly in resort areas such as Montego Bay and Negril.
Despite the scale of the destruction, recovery efforts have moved swiftly. Electricity has been restored to 98 per cent of affected households, while water supply has been returned to 97 per cent. The island’s three major international airports are now fully operational.
In March, Holness announced that Jamaica had officially transitioned from emergency response to the reconstruction phase.
Central to this effort is NaRRA, first announced in November 2025 and now the subject of enabling legislation before Parliament. The authority is mandated to lead, coordinate, and fast-track national reconstruction, reporting directly to the Office of the Prime Minister.
As outlined in the 2026 Throne Speech, NaRRA will serve as “a centre of technical excellence for project preparation and execution, a single point of national coordination across ministries, agencies and development partners, and a structured platform for public-private partnership”.
The authority is backed by a US$6.7-billion multilateral financing package assembled by institutions including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the International Monetary Fund – the largest coordinated reconstruction financing effort in Jamaica’s history.
Beyond restoration, the initiative is anchored in a build-back-better approach, focusing on climate-resilient housing, upgraded infrastructure, relocation from high-risk areas, and the development of new industries in vulnerable communities.
The conference will close with a keynote address by Holness titled ‘Building Back Better: Jamaica’s Vision for National Recovery and Resilience’, followed by a question-and-answer session.