L’Albero della Vita offers medical assistance to the people in the Waf Jeremie slum, the poorest in Haiti, with 50,000 people living in an extremely degraded environment without any basic infrastructures.
Prior to the earthquake, Haiti had the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the Western Hemisphere, with a weak health care system. One in 13 children did not survive to 5 years old, and almost a third were chronically malnourished.
The earthquake has exacerbated the situation. L’Albero della Vita is scaling up work to reduce health threats to infants and children, screen and treat malnutrition, provide basic health services and continue regular health work where possible. Its clinic and Haitian medical teams have cared for more then 23,000 children and adults. The organization has delivered more than 16 tons of medicines and supplies to hospitals and clinics. L’Albero della Vita has also established some infant care in temporary settlements. These “mother & child survival spaces” provide mothers with a private place to breastfeed and serve as a center where malnourished children receive treatment.
The project offers medical assistance to the people in the Waf Jeremie slum, the poorest in Haiti, with 50,000 people living in an extremely degraded environment without any basic infrastructures. This project reinforces the work carried out by the missionary Sister Marcella Catozza, who manages the San Franswa Clinic, the only medical facility in Waf Jeremie.
L’Albero della Vita provides the clinic with the necessary equipment and it bears its costs to ensure the normal medical and healthcare assistance to the local population. Moreover, the project supports the Nutritional Programme, according to which undernourished children receive Ready to Use TherapeuticFood (RUTF).
Finally, the project deals with the promotion of the rights of the child by involving and motivating youths living in the slum, as well as encouraging them to take measures to prevent violence against children.
Beneficiaries: 5,000 children and 3,000 youths and adults living in the Waf Jeremie slum, whose only access to medical care is the San Franswa Clinic. 5,000 children that receive nutritional assistance thanks to the clinic’s programmes. 3,000 families that receive information and an increased awareness with regards to the rights of the child.
