WASHINGTON - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) today announced an additional $14 million in humanitarian assistance to further bolster the Government of Haiti's ongoing efforts to support communities affected by Hurricane Matthew. With this funding, USAID is providing nearly $28 million for Hurricane Matthew relief efforts in Haiti, Jamaica, and The Bahamas, making the United States the single largest donor of humanitarian assistance to date.

The funding announced today will provide critical food assistance and relief supplies to communities in Haiti impacted by Hurricane Matthew. A portion of the funds will allow the UN World Food Program (WFP) to provide nearly 2,000 metric tons of lentils, yellow split peas, vegetable oil, and fortified corn soy blend, to help WFP meet its goal of providing food assistance to 750,000 people for three months. In addition,  support will be provided to NGO partners to procure and distribute critical commodities-including water purification tablets, plastic sheeting, and kitchen sets-to all three hard-hit areas on Haiti's southwest peninsula.

The United States is also supporting activities to mitigate the heightened risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases in the aftermath of the storm. This funding will help provide safe drinking water and promote safe hygiene practices in high-risk areas. It will also help give affected communities better access to emergency health care, and improve water, hygiene, and sanitation at health facilities and temporary shelters.

In addition, this funding will bolster the logistic capacity and operations of USAID and its partners, which have been stockpiling, transporting, and distributing relief supplies around the country, and have been working in partnership with the Government of Haiti to clear roads to restore access to areas cut off by Hurricane Matthew. 

This additional assistance comes as Joint Task Force-Matthew, which was stood up by U.S. Southern Command, announced the conclusion of its hurricane relief efforts in Haiti on October 19. During its two-week mission, the U.S. Department of Defense provided unique capabilities to support the Government of Haiti through USAID's response efforts, including: the delivery of approximately 275 metric tons of emergency relief supplies; the transportation of more than 170 response critical personnel; and the provision of stopgap airfield logistics support in coordination with Haitian authorities.