KINGSTON, Jamaica--CARICOM has given "a commitment" to finance the Jamaica Defence Force relief base in Haiti until March 5, according to a press release issued Saturday by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).
The additional funding, the OPM said, will come from the government of the Bahamas, and will pave the way for the continuation of humanitarian assistance from the region to the earthquake-ravaged capital of Port-au-Prince.
This assurance came during a meeting at Jamaica House on Friday. Two days after the devastating earthquake of January 12, Jamaica established a military base facilitating Caricom and Jamaican troops and health workers. The Government received $10-million reimbursement from Caricom earlier in the week, with the assurance that an additional $30 million was on the way.
Friday's meeting was chaired by acting Prime Minister Pearnel Charles, and attended by the General Secretary of Caricom Edwin Carrington, local disaster relief officials and the executive director of the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Jeremy Collymore. CDEMA is an agency of Caricom. (Jamaica Observer)