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Most Haitians would describe 2021 as filled with fear, political unrest, and crisis. Even so, Haitians celebrated the holiday season with feelings of joy, love, peace, reconciliation after a difficult year. Our nutrition team was hard at work during the season caring for the most vulnerable– those who are sick and suffering from malnutrition.
MFK’s mission to decrease the malnutrition level in Haiti is in part accomplished by training nurses and health agents on tools for running malnutrition programs, and keeping them up-to-date on current medical knowledge. In December, twelve healthcare workers took part in an education session. It was a great time– we discussed MSPP (Ministry of Public Health and Population of Haiti) malnutrition protocol, proper techniques for weighing and measuring children seeking treatment, and malnutrition treatment procedures.
One child treated by an MFK-trained nurse in our malnutrition program this winter was Maya. At 10 months old, Maya became very sick, and her mother brought her to the Plaine-du-Nord region to seek help. After several unsuccessful medical appointments, Maya's health continued to worsen. One nurse at New Hope Hospital, one of MFK's malnutrition clinic partners located in Plaine-du-Nord, met her mother and advised her to bring Maya for malnutrition screening.
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Maya was admitted to MFK’s malnutrition program, weighing 14.3 LB. After spending over 10 weeks in the program, she graduated at a healthier weight of 17.6 LB just after her first birthday. Maya's mother was so grateful to MFK for the program at New Hope Hospital and saving her baby's life from malnutrition.
We are grateful to our donors, employees, local medical teams and nurses, and our clinic partners, for making our life-saving work possible. It is only through the incredible support that we are able to treat and restore children like Maya.
