Project Lead(s): Federica Pozzi
Issue
Haiti has the highest rates of underweight children and acute childhood malnutrition in the Latin American and Caribbean regions.
The fourth national Haiti Demographic and Health Survey (HDHS), conducted in 2005–06, found that one in every three children under the age of five was stunted, one in 10 was wasted, and two in every 10 were underweight.
Poor nutrition and malnutrition are associated with poor feeding practices, resulting from issues such as lack of access to appropriate foods and sub-optimal knowledge and attitudes among caregivers.
Solution
The project sought to engage women in the community of Torbeck (Southern Haiti) by providing education on nutrition and malnutrition, to strengthen the knowledge of nutrition among mothers.
The ultimate objective was to improve the nutrition of children between the ages of 24 months and six years.
The team developed a business/sales and promotion plan for the fortified cereal flour (Mama+) involving the selection and training of local women.
Radio and television ads were developed and broadcast to promote the flour and its consumption. Posters were also created and displayed around the communities in Torbeck.
The women conducted sales through door-to-door visits within the community of Torbeck, with a total of 9,722 Mama+ bags of cereal sold from April 2015–March 2016.
Participants also promoted appropriate complementary feeding practices, and educated families and potential clients on the benefits of using fortified infant cereal in addition to breast milk for children over six months old.
A total of 1,140 children were also screened for malnutrition during these visits.
Outcome
A correlation was seen between the Mama+ consumption and enhanced nutritional status, with the malnutrition rate reduced by 1.2% (from 5.6% to 4.4%) in Torbeck among children up to five years old.
While small, the income earned by selling Mama+ flour, when added to the fixed salary earned for their nutrition work, allowed participating mothers to earn an income comparable to that of a private school teacher.
A total of 7,609 families received at least two home visits from mothers selling the cereal, who promoted appropriate complementary feeding practices.
The Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population has acknowledged that Mama+ flour represents a local solution to the malnutrition problem in Haiti.
The project team will continue to produce the Mama+ flour and participating mothers will continue selling the flour through door-to-door visits in the Torbeck community.
AVSI Haiti is awaiting certification for the Mama+ flour from the Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population and is exploring new possibilities for selling the Mama+ flour with Haitian distributors.
Several contacts and meetings have been held with partners in food distribution in Port au Prince, Haiti.
