PRESS RELEASE
Cairo, Egypt, 12 December 2025: – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced a donation of US$1.1 million to the governments of Jamaica and Haiti to support their recovery efforts following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa in October.
Hurricane Melissa, which passed through the northern Caribbean, unleashed unprecedented devastation on a number of countries in the region, including Haiti and Jamaica both of which are Afreximbank member states. According to letters of solidarity sent by Dr. George Elombi, President of Afreximbank, to the respective governments, $600,000 of the donation will go to Jamaica and US$500,000 to Haiti.
The donation followed separate meetings held on 31 October and 3 November between Dr. Elombi and H.E. Laurent Saint-Cyr, Chairman of the Transitional Presidential Council of Haiti, and the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, respectively, during which he expressed condolences and affirmed Afreximbank’s commitment to supporting the two countries in their rebuilding efforts.
President Elombi informed the two leaders that Afreximbank would engage with the relevant agencies and authorities to explore the possibility of developing country programmes to support recovery projects in the two countries. To this end, the Caribbean Office of the Bank was mandated to engage with both governments to explore ways of providing further support towards the reconstruction process.
According to the United Nations, Hurricane Melissa, which reached Category 5 Status in Jamaica, impacted more than 1.6 million people in the country.
President Dr. Elombi, captured the urgency of the moment, stating: “We commiserate with our brothers and sisters in Haiti, Jamaica, and other places devastated by Hurricane Melissa. While extending our support towards immediate relief efforts in the region, we recognise the scale of damage to vital infrastructure and to people’s livelihoods. We remain steadfast in our support for recovery and restoration efforts and in building our collective resilience against future climate shocks.”