Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Haiti is a lower-income country in the Caribbean and Central America, identified as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 59% population living below the poverty line. The national prevalence of children under-five with stunting, wasting or overweight is 21.9%, 3.7% and 3.4%, respectively. Similar to other countries in the region, undernutrition persists in older children and adolescents (17.2%), while there is also a striking increase in overweight (27.5%) and obesity (10.8%). There is no functional national cancer registry, which makes it difficult to understand the prevalence of cancer in the country. Nevertheless, the estimated total incident for childhood cancer in the Caribbean is 1,495 cases per year; 541 cases annually in Haiti. These numbers are growing annually as access to pediatric cancer care further improves.

IIPAN Center & Collaborators

St. Damien Pediatric Hospital is the only hospital in Haiti that treats childhood cancer and is an IIPAN collaborator. It is funded through the nonprofit “Our Little Brothers and Sisters”, and provides first rate quality and dignified medical treatment for disadvantaged and sick children, regardless of their social level.

The implementation of the IIPAN nutrition program is overseen by Dr. Catherine Sanon, the IIPAN physician developing an evidence-based nutrition program for the pediatric hospital. Dr. Sanon partners with IIPAN to garner local support to assist with infrastructure needs. Under her supervision is the division data manager, Bethany Joseph, who works with IIPAN advancing our understanding of nutritional status in children receiving care in resource-limited countries. Prior to IIPAN, there was no hospital-wide initiative advancing nutritional care for pediatrics.

Site Challenges

• Poor kitchen and hospital infrastructure.
• No local non-governmental organization partnership advancing nutrition initiatives.
• Limited to no access to essential nutritional supplies.
• Extensive education is needed for most families on nutrition basics especially related to addressing endemic challenges in pediatric nutrition.

Site Needs

• Enhanced infrastructure for hospital kitchen to create and provide homemade formulas.
• Technological equipment. 
• Initiate collaborations with non-governmental organization and leading world heath institutions to further enhance training and resources.
• Consistent supplies for medical nutrition therapy, including RUTF, F-75, F-100, specialized formulas and multivitamin micronutrient powder.
• Stable local source of fresh food, such as fruits and salads, for the children in the hospital.