Malnutrition Rehabilitation

The Malnutrition Treatment Center is a residential center staffed by nurses, therapists, educators, and psychologists that offers families and communities a comprehensive approach to treating and preventing childhood malnutrition. The Center’s goal is to provide immediate nutritional and medical support to children with severe malnutrition, while providing education & training to, as well as investment in, the child’s caregiver to strengthen the entire family and prevent malnutrition relapse.

 
1,860 Children & Caregivers housed for holistic malnutrition recovery
719 Home Gardens started by caregiver graduates with support from Second Mile agriculture techicians
546 Businesses launched by caregiver graduates with investment from Second Mile Haiti
 

Follow-up Care

Second Mile Haiti’s support for families doesn’t end when they leave the Treatment Center. We continue to invest in the health and well-being of graduate families long after recovery from malnutrition has been achieved.

We support families in the vulnerable period following recovery through follow-up visits at home and at the center, with continued access to our nurses and psychologists. In 2020, we started a home-gardening initiative for former graduates and have since helped 338 caregivers start home gardens.

By providing access to education & increasing food security, these efforts help break the cycle of undernutrition and keep families together.

 
 

How it works

STEP 1

FAMILIES ARE REFERRED FROM WITHIN HAITI’S HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICE SECTORS

(from Hospitals and clinics, and from orphanages and aid organizations where the family has gone seeking help... )

  • Referred children are screened for severe acute malnutrition

  • Children with severe acute malnutrition are admitted to live-in center with a caregiver/family member

  • Professional health team coordinates individualized care response including referral to local hospitals as needed, and coordination of follow-up visits with these health centers

  • Haitian trained nurses monitor daily progress, intervene according to National Protocol for Treatment of Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (PTA), and teach mothers/caregivers how to administer treatment

  • Rehabilitation continues for 4 - 10 weeks depending on severity of child’s condition

STEP 2

DURING THEiR STAY AT THE CENTER EACH CAREGIVER,

  • Participates in daily group education classes: in health, nutrition, business, gardening, and literacy

  • Receives individual issue-based support

  • Benefits from participatory learning, hands-on livelihood-training, and peer-support

  • Gains confidence by driving her child’s recovery and developing literacy skills

  • Learns how to manage income-generating activity and raise small animals as asset investments

STEP 3

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During education classes and one-on-one sessions, caregivers learn that prevention of malnutrition begins with family planning, prenatal care, breastfeeding, and improved hygiene and sanitation:

UPON PROGRAM GRADUATION, EACH CAREGIVER,

  • Is supported through home visits as well as follow-up visits at the center

  • Starts income-generating activity which allows her to meet her children’s nutritional, educational, & health needs through earned income

  • Can participate in an incentive based savings program which leads to purchase of assets like livestock and small animals

  • Is more likely to send her children to school, an important step in breaking the cycle of generational undernutrition

  • Shares her knowledge with friends, family, and community, and becomes an advocate for malnutrition prevention


TESTIMONIALS 

After completing their final exam, caregivers are asked two questions: How did this program help you? and What dreams do you have for your child? Here are a few of their answers.