Reaffirming the United States’ Commitment to Humanitarian Assistance in our Hemisphere

Today, the U.S. Department of State reaffirmed its commitment to increasing preparedness and leading the Western Hemisphere in response to hurricanes and other natural disasters. Building on the United States’ rapid response to Hurricane Melissa in 2025, the Department will engage in greater coordination with the United States Southern Command through the new Bureau for Disaster and Humanitarian Response (DHR).

The United States stands ready to respond to the impact of storms in our hemisphere during the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season with the launch of DHR’s first U.S. humanitarian assistance hub in South Florida. This initiative formalizes a State-led coordination hub, better integrating pre-positioned emergency relief supplies strategically located across our region and embedding DHR disaster and humanitarian advisors at Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) to expand technical expertise civil-military coordination.

With the Department of State leading U.S. government responses to sudden-onset disasters and high-priority, complex humanitarian emergencies overseas, the Trump Administration continues to refocus our humanitarian assistance in our region. Through the Trump Administration’s America First Foreign Assistance, the United States is dedicating 20 percent of our total assistance resources to our hemisphere, advancing U.S. priorities and further demonstrating American leadership in our region.