PIH Hurricane Matthew Response in Haiti

Thank you for your continued support of Partners In Health / Zanmi Lasante in the long wake of Hurricane Matthew.

We’re delighted to share with you a success story from one of our malnutrition clinics—which became more important than ever after the hurricane washed away families’ crops and livestock, putting more and more kids at risk for starvation and stunting.

Read below for how your generosity helps save children’s lives each day. Thank you!

Lunie was the picture of a mischievous toddler. Shy yet curious, she hid behind her mother’s legs and played peek-a-boo with visitors to her home in rural Lascahobas, Haiti.

Lunie wasn’t always that way. In April 2016, one month after turning 2, she arrived at the Partners In Health clinic in Lascahobas and was diagnosed as severely malnourished.

In Haiti, roughly 1 in 5 children are starving, and 1 in 3 are stunted because they don’t have enough to eat.

Last year, Lunie counted among them. The lethargic little girl had a fever and diarrhea, wasn’t eating, and her feet were so swollen that it was painful for her to walk. Her mother brought her to the Lascahobas clinic for the first time that April.

By mid-November, Lunie had gained more than three pounds and added another inch in height, and her mid-upper arm circumference—a commonly used indicator of malnutrition—had gone from 4 ½ inches to 6 inches.

Her body wasn’t the only thing changing. Lunie began acting much more like the stereotypical terrible 2-year-old. 

Soon enough, her family received wonderful news from the clinic: Lunie no longer needed to return.

Links:

• Revisiting Lunie, a Malnutrition Patient in Haiti