Hospital
Albert Schweitzer is a 100 bed hospital with 6 community
health centers serving 300,000 residents in Haiti.
Infant malnutrition remains endemic especially in
the mountainous regions where single-crop subsistence
is the norm.
Recently
HAS treated 77 severely malnourished children
in the hospital and 231 in the Nutrition Program
called the “little kitchen”. 96% recovered
and 4% were referred back to the hospital for
long term care. All at-risk children continue
to be monitored for signs of relapse.
Health
workers are referring an average of 45 malnourished
children per month, a 250% increase over last
year.
HAS’s
early Intervention developed 70+ “little
kitchens”,(community based programs including
meals, cooking demonstrations, health lessons
and caregiver-child bonding activities for moderately
malnourished children and caregivers). Caregiver
receives monthly food ration for 1 year or more
and are encouraged to join a mothers’ club
- a monthly support group – there are over
100 support groups to date.
Upon
discharge from the hospital, HAS provides advance
treatment to each child by supplying them with
Plumpy Nut ( a locally made therapeutic food consisting
of peanut butter, vitamins, milk powder and high-quality
vegetable oil. Plumpy Nut was developed
by Doctors Without Boarders). Plumpy Nut
costs approximately $5 per kilo (2.2 lbs) an average
of $100 provides one child with full-course of
treatment for 6-8 weeks.
HAS
needed an estimated $30,000 to cover the cost
of Plumpy Nut - Midtown Atlanta Rotary Board
of Directors and the Midtown Atlanta Rotary Foundations
recently approved the contribution of $2,000 to
cover a portion of the cost of the Plumpy Nut
and related prevention/treatment plans. HAS has
instituted the Nutrition Program going forward
- ($50 covers 10 children) of the 300,000 population
served by HAS. Our contribution will help treat
400 children in the program
