Canadian journalist and Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food Programme (WFP), George Stroumboulopoulos, paid a visit to the country to see the work done by the UN agency in the fight against malnutrition.

Mr. Stroumboulopoulos visited a camp hosting some 10,000 IDPs and he visited the medical center [under tent] where children aged six months to five years are weighed and measured to determine their nutritional status. Pregnant and lactating women are also tracked. In case of detection of cases of malnutrition, patients are immediately supported through the WFP program against hunger and sent to another tent nearby to receive an enriched diet until they regain their full health.

"This health center ad-hoc must be able to serve a large number of people. It deals with the nutritional needs of families and the feeding center is just off," noted Mr. Stroumboulopoulos. Then he visited a public school where children benefit of a nutrition initiative of WFP. Every day, the UN agency and its partners offer complete meals to about 1.1 million schoolchildren across the country. In addition, WFP supports the Government of Haiti to develop a food program for all schools in Haiti, in particular by creating direct links between local farmers and schools.

"I appreciate the strong link between the food program, schools and education. This is done so that the model does not limit itself to solve a problem of emergency. It's not just question to feed someone who is hungry. Here the children come, they learn, they read and they eat. Learning and nutrition are linked," welcomed Mr. Stroumboulopoulos.

HL/ HaitiLibre