Standing Together in the Storm: How AACKA Responds to Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica

A Storm Like No Other

The island of Jamaica is facing a potentially historic event: Hurricane Melissa has intensified into a Category 5 storm and is expected to make landfall in Jamaica, bringing catastrophic winds, torrential rain and severe storm surge. This kind of extreme weather poses not only immediate risks to life and infrastructure, but deep health consequences—especially for people with pre‑existing conditions.

Why This Matters for AACKA

At AACKA, we focus on raising awareness of kidney disease in Afro‑Caribbean communities. In a crisis like this:
- People with kidney disease are especially vulnerable: disruptions to dialysis, contaminated water, loss of medications, inability to access clinics.
- Disaster impacts can trigger long‑term health conditions: flood stress, dehydration, hypertension spikes and interruptions to healthy diets and routines all feed into kidney risk.
- Our message of prevention, resilience and community support becomes all the more critical in the face of emergency.

What AACKA Is Doing – Our Response Plan

Here’s how AACKA will help;
- Issuing social‑media posts via our Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram channels
- Publishing blog updates on our website

What You Can Do — Call to Action

If you’re part of AACKA or supporting our cause:
- Share our awareness post: “Have you checked your kidney‑health emergency kit? #AACKA #KidneysInStorms”.
- Contact family/friends in Jamaica to ensure they know their nearest dialysis centre’s status.
- Donate to our Emergency Response Fund to support clinics and kidney patients.
- Volunteer your design, translation or media skills for the next 72 hours.

Looking Ahead — Why This Matters Beyond the Storm

This hurricane reminds us that climate events exacerbate underlying health inequalities. Afro‑Caribbean communities already face higher rates of kidney disease, and disasters widen the gap. By linking AACKA’s mission to emergency resilience, we show that kidney awareness belongs in preparedness planning, not just health education.

Closing Thoughts

As Hurricane Melissa bears down on Jamaica, the human toll may be great. But through AACKA’s voice, we step in with compassion, information, action. Let’s turn this moment into an opportunity — to support our brothers and sisters in Jamaica, to illuminate the invisible risk of kidney disease in crisis, and to build a path towards a more resilient, kidney‑aware community.

🙏 We’re with you, Jamaica. We’re with the Afro‑Caribbean community. We will act, we will raise awareness, and we will keep kidneys safe — in sunshine and in storm.