Nutrition and Health Care for Haiti’s Neediest
“One of my children, Yva Jean-Pierre, was severely malnourished; he was so thin that you could count his bones. My other child, Dieucadeau, was also malnourished,” says 40-year-old Jesula Faustin.
Yva and Dieucadeau are two of the seven young children Jesula Faustin and her husband struggle daily to feed in the commune of Belle Anse, in southeastern Haiti. Like the rest of Haiti, Belle Anse suffers from high rates of unemployment and poverty, and malnutrition is widespread.
Faustin found help for her children when Maitre Lahens, an ACDI/VOCA health agent, invited her to a local community meeting about a maternal and child health and nutrition (MCHN) recuperative program, which provides malnourished children aged 24-59 months with monthly supplemental rations.
Reaching Haiti’s Most Vulnerable
The recuperative program is part of the USAID PL 480 Title II Multi-Year Assistance Program for Haiti, which ACDI/VOCA implements in cooperation with the Bureau de Nutrition et Développement, a local Haitian organization with more than 20 years of food security program experience.
“[Maitre Lahens] told me about the MCHN program and he said we were eligible for support. The food allows me to feed all my children,” says Faustin.
When she gave birth to her youngest son, who had a very low birth weight, the baby was included in the preventive program, which distributes food for children aged 6-23 months and to pregnant and lactating mothers. The preventive program is designed to pre-empt the kind of malnutrition from which Faustin’s older children have suffered.
Every month, ACDI/VOCA provides nutritious, high-calorie, soy-fortified bulgur, corn-soy blend, yellow peas and vegetable oil to vulnerable families in southeastern Haiti. As part of the MCHN program, ACDI/VOCA health agents also monitor the health of the children and provide health and nutrition services at central locations called rally posts.
“You can see the difference in my son’s health,” says Faustin.
“Dieucadeau has enjoyed good health since the ACDI/VOCA program provided support to him. Every month I take my children to the rally post. Maitre Lahens always weighs them, gives them their vaccinations, and gives them vitamin A if they need it. He meets with mothers on a regular basis, teaches them how to prepare balanced meals and talks about family planning and other topics.”
Family Planning is Part of Family Care
In a region where it is common for women to have more than 10 children, introducing family planning options is crucial. But options are limited and many women are wary of trying something unfamiliar, inconvenient or expensive.
At first, Faustin was hesitant, but over time she considered various birth control options offered through the program. “I’m convinced about the need to control the size of my family,” she says. “I want the best for the children I have now.”
She chose a method called Jadelle, a progesterone stick implanted under the skin, which provides five years’ protection. Jadelle is a new product donated to the program by a Haitian NGO called Profamil, and Faustin was one of the first in her community to use it. She serves as a positive example to other women in the community and represents success for the program’s behavior change training.
An Integrated Strategy to Reduce Hunger
Malnutrition and hunger are not new to Haiti, but Faustin’s story offers hope for the poor. The Title II program takes a holistic approach to reducing vulnerability to food insecurity, integrating three strategies:
- Improving agricultural and off-farm livelihoods
- Enhancing mother and child health and nutrition
- Developing an early warning system for food-security-related crises and increased emergency preparedness.
Learn more about these program components.
Learn more about ACDI/VOCA's work in Haiti.
Pictured at top left: Jesula Faustin stands with her children. Her family is now healthier because of ACDI/VOCA’s USAID-funded maternal and child health and nutrition program in Haiti.
