iciHaiti - Health : 130,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition in Haiti
The situation of malnutrition in the country remains very worrying with more than 130,000 children suffering from global acute malnutrition.
Several local initiatives are underway in affected communities. In Croix des Bouquets, where poverty is at the base of several hundred cases of malnutrition, the House Saint Francis of Assisi (Foyer Saint François d'Assise) has been implementing since September 2013 a nutrition program that benefits pregnant women and children between 6 months and 5 years old. The detected cases are monitored carefully by a multidisciplinary team that provides continuous care. Dozens of malnourished children were treated through the center, that has adopted an innovative nutrition program developed in Brazil, and has helped thousands of children to survive from malnutrition in that country.
The project also provides special attention to education/awareness of mothers who sometimes do not know how to provide a balanced diet for their children to avoid malnutrition and other diseases. The center also has health agents that visit the families of malnourished children to ensure that they continue the prescribed treatment.
