Malnutrition in Haiti
Malnutrition is one of the world’s most devastating health issues, says the World Health Organization. Altogether it accounts for more than 50% of childhood deaths each year. Deprived of essential nutrients, malnourished children stop growing, and their bodies begin consuming their own tissues.
Because of Haiti’s tumultuous political and economic environment, many Haitian children face a bleak future. Of the estimated 1.35 million Haitian children under the age of five, nearly one in ten — or 130,000 — will die before their fifth birthday. Malnutrition causes more than half of these deaths.
Haiti’s childhood malnutrition rates are alarmingly high:
- 8.5% (120,000) are gaunt and wasted.
- 22.7% (306,000) are chronically underweight.
- 28.3% (382,000) are stunted, too short for their age.
Yet malnourished children do not die from hunger but from a weakened immune system, which makes them more susceptible to disease. Those who do survive are scarred for life: They do not grow up to be as smart, strong, or healthy as they could have been. And these effects have repercussions for the child’s family, community, and country. If Haiti’s children don’t reach their full potential, what is the future for Haiti?
