Montego Bay - The roof of the Cornwall Regional hospital, in Jamaica, has been fully restored just three weeks after it was destroyed by Hurricane Melissa. With funding from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Jamaican contractors repaired 1,434 m² of roofing. This marks a significant milestone in the hospital’s recovery plan and allows the resumption of minimal operating capacity in selected wards.

Hurricane Melissa caused extensive damage to the facility, with 81 per cent of the hospital’s total roof surface damaged or blown off. Critical areas—including the accident and emergency, and maternal health wards, and the laboratory and nursery—were affected, leading to severe flooding and rendering many parts of the hospital inoperable.

Working alongside emergency authorities, hospital management, parish health authorities, and local contractors, MSF organised and funded the reconstruction effort. The Pan American Health Organization also contributed.

“With the Cornwall Regional hospital roofs completed, authorities can now focus on restoring the hospital to its pre-Melissa capacity,” says Estifanos Mengitsu, MSF emergency coordinator.

“There is still more to be done,” Mengitsu continued. “We are doing everything in our capacity to support the authorities and ensure that the remaining healthcare needs and gaps are covered.”

MSF is closely collaborating with the Ministry of Health and parish health authorities to identify other damaged health facilities in Jamaica, and begin reconstruction as soon as possible. This work is essential to ensuring Jamaican healthcare staff can resume treating patients in a safe environment.

MSF is also supporting clinics, including the Maroon and Cambridge health centres in St. James parish, with medical supplies and medicines, as stocks were destroyed by roof damage and subsequent flooding during the hurricane.