Haiti Country Profile
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Population:
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9,296,000
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Children-under-5 mortality rate:
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80 per 1000
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Vitamin A deficiency, in children 6 to 59 months old:
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32%
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Iodine deficiency:
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58.9%
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Prevalence of anemia, in children 6 to 59 months old:
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60.6%
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Prevalence of anemia, in women:
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45.8%
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Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.1 It ranks 68th on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Poverty Index Scale, with 65% of its population living under the national poverty line.
Haiti has the highest child mortality rate in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
Availability and consumption of iodized salt has decreased dramatically in the past five years. In 2000, 11% of the population consumed iodized salt compared to 2% in 20052.
Our Priorities in Haiti
Recently, MI's highest priorities in Haiti have been to:
- Address iodine deficiency by providing iodized oil capsules and working with salt producers to improve the quality of locally produced salt
- Alleviate vitamin A deficiency by boosting the coverage of high-dose vitamin A supplements (VAS)
- Alleviate anemia by making multiple-micronutrient sachets for children available in the marketplace.
Major Partnerships
MI, Haiti's Ministry of Health (MoH), UNICEF, and WFP work together to improve vitamin A coverage via National Child Health Weeks.
In July 2006, MI and the World Food Programme in Haiti (WFP Haiti) joined forces to increase access to adequately iodized salt. Our objectives are to:
- Produce sufficient quantities of local iodized salt to meet the iodine nutrition needs of the population (a long-term goal due to the current status of salt production in Haiti)
- Procure, distribute, and monitor iodized oil capsules as an interim measure
MI's investment in improved production and iodization techniques was complemented by resources from WFP's food for work programme.
Innovation in Technology and Program Delivery
MI was commissioned by WFP to develop the technical process for fortifying cassava snacks. The fortified snacks have now been incorporated into school feeding programs to help prevent hidden hunger in school-aged children in Haiti.
Child Survival
Supporting Immune Systems and Reducing Deaths from Common Childhood Diseases
Vitamin A Supplements (VAS)
For the past five years, MI provided high-dose vitamin A capsules in quantities sufficient to meet the annual requirement of two doses for 90% of Haitian children 6 to 59 months.
Multiple-Micronutrient Powders
MI promoted the use of BabyFer sachets of powdered iron, zinc, vitamin A, folic acid, and vitamin C to reduce anemia in children 6 to 24 months. BabyFer was sold through commercial channels and achieved sales of approximately 100,000 sachets per month (1.2 million for the year) in 2006. While this is a good start, we still have a long way to go because this represents coverage of the equivalent of only 5% of all Haitian children 6 to 24 months with the full annual dose of 60 sachets per year.
1. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)
2. Survey of the Prevalence of Vitamin A and Iodine Deficiency in Haiti, July 2005, Institut Haitien de l'Enfance