INSIGHTS from Jamaica’s catastrophic experience with Hurricane Melissa will help inform the 2026 edition of the global human development report (HDR) following a landmark consultation convened by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with The University of the West Indies (UWI).

With the 2025 landfall of the Category 5 Hurricane, UNDP’s global HDR team is looking to small island developing states (SIDS) like Jamaica for insights on how the planetary crisis is reshaping social vulnerability and human development.

Qualitative data and strategic recommendations were collected during a recent consultation and thought leaders dialogue convened at the Mona School of Business by The UWI and UNDP — publisher of the HDR for the past 26 years.