About Us...

History & Overview

Summary

The Nutrition Program began in mid-1998 with the support of local individuals and churches in Chattanooga, Tennessee to address infant and child malnutrition in Leogane, Haiti. Malnutrition is responsible for about 60% of all child deaths in Haiti, and 42% of surviving children are permanently stunted and experience varying degrees of physical and mental impairment due to protein and vitamin deficiencies.

The Nutrition Program is integrated into the community health structure of the district hospital in Leogane (population est. 150,000) and is committed to the survival and growth of children, the rehabilitation of malnourished children, and to the health of mothers. Currently over 35 Haitian women are employed by the Nutrition Program and are providing low-cost, sustainable programs for mothers and malnourished children in their own villages.

Achievements

  • Health workers monitor the growth of children, employ educational and behavior change methodology to encourage better feeding practices in the poorest households, develop nutritionally sound meals with locally available foods, and promote community-wide mobilization for improved child health.
  • Between 65 and 70% of children in Leogane are malnourished. After 6 months in the Nutrition Program, 80% of participating children were rehabilitated and growing as fast as or faster than the international standard median rate.
  • A microcredit program for mothers of severely malnourished children brings additional income in the home, resulting in improved resources and overall health. Education and literacy classes give women additional opportunities for income-generation, and preliminary data suggests the microcredit program has an immediate positive effect on child survival.
  • The Nutrition Program was a featured article in the December 2002 issue of the scholarly journal Food and Nutrition Bulletin with suggestions for improving the program that will benefit other organizations across Haiti as well as in other countries.
     
  • The Nutrition Program established an in-hospital nutritional rehabilitation center for severely malnourished children employing the World Health Organization’s protocol for the treatment of severe malnutrition and is now helping develop a protocol for all hospitals in Haiti.
     
  • The Nutrition Program has presented its methods and data on children in Leogane at a number of conferences and trainings for international audiences.  The Nutrition Program is recognized as a model for statistical success in reducing the prevalence of malnutrition and child mortality rates in Haiti and several national organizations have visited the program for on-site training.




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