St. Boniface Haiti Foundation has a strong commitment to the nutritional well-being of the families of Fond des Blancs.  Programs to address the needs of malnourished children, pregnant women and those with HIV/AIDS have been well-established.

We know there is a significant child malnutrition problem in this region.  USAID's map of Haiti shows Fond des Blancs as one of the areas of highest risk of malnutrition.  The higher rates here can be attributed to poor growing conditions in the mountains and two failed crop seasons prior to the hurricanes.  The isolation of the region with very bad roads also means less employment and ability to purchase food.  Since the start of the food crisis early in the year, we have seen the small number of children admitted to the hospital for treatment of severe malnutrition quadruple.

After the devastating hurricane season, an emergency assessment was done to determine the impact of the storms on the nutrition status of children in the region.  These measurements give us data that helps us request assistance from larger aid organizations and gives us the ability to track changes over time.

A protocol developed by UNICEF, called Rapid Nutrition Assessment, was used and involved measuring 100 children under the age of 5.  A team of nurses, community health workers and a nutritionist visited homes in two villages, Lexi and Sapotille, where malnutrition rates are the highest. Mid-upper arm circumference, an indicator of nutritional status, and heights and weights were taken.

The team rode by moto-taxi to the bottom of the mountain at Lexi.  This was the only mode of transportation that could get them there because the road conditions were so poor.  They walked up the mountain to Sapotille and split into teams that visited as many households as they could before the sun went down.  It was important to visit each house instead of asking people to come to a central location so that children who were sick or couldn't walk would be included.

100 children under the age of five were measured.  Over half of the children were malnourished and 9 were moderately or severely malnourished.  One child was referred to the hospital for inpatient treatment.

It is now two months after the storms. We are still seeing higher numbers of children with severe malnutrition in the hospital.  Since September, we have had 78 new children enrolled in the nutrition program.  This is 40% of the total number for the year enrolled in the last 2.5 months.  We can expect the numbers to continue to rise well into the next growing season.  Our Nutrition Program and our Akamil Program will be invaluable in saving the lives of hundreds of children in these critical times.