World Wide Village is partnering with Vitamin Angels to provide important vitamins to pregnant women, babies and young children in rural Haiti. During a time when food insecurity and malnutrition are on the rise, the ability to expand this program has been so very important. A special thanks to all of our Cornerstone Club members and year-end donors who make these programs possible!

Over the last two months, our WWV midwife and nurse have been visiting our partner-schools and holding mobile community clinics to provide Vitamin A and Albendazole to children ages 0-5. They also continue to provide prenatal vitamins to all of the pregnant mothers in the Healthy Mothers + Healthy Babies program.

Vitamins Angels does an excellent job describing the importance of the vitamins offered to pregnant women, babies, and young children:

 

DURING PREGNANCY:

The first 1,000 days – starting with pregnancy – is a time of rapid growth and development. To safely and effectively improve maternal health and pregnancy outcomes, we focus on increasing access to multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) and improving maternal diet quality.

During pregnancy, women require more nutrients than usual, and even the healthiest diet may not supply everything a mom and baby need. Vitamin Angels (in partnership with World Wide Village) provides expectant mothers with access to MMS — better known as prenatal vitamins and minerals — and the nutrition counseling and tools needed to ensure access, acceptance, and uptake, which improve maternal health and birth outcomes.

 

FOLLOWING BIRTH:

A child’s nutrition from infancy through age two can influence their health for a lifetime. During this critical window, we share educational materials on the importance of breastfeeding and complementary feeding, which can save lives while helping to promote overall health and wellbeing.

Breastfeeding is one of the best ways to promote a child’s health, well-being, and survival. It provides all the nutrients infants need as well as antibodies that protect against common childhood illnesses. Vitamin Angels designs and implements nutrition counseling programs to improve maternal and young child nutrition such as exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and nutrient-rich complementary foods with continued breastfeeding up to two years of age.

EARLY CHILDHOOD:

When children start life healthy, they’re better able to reach their full potential. To build strong immune systems, reduce illness, and support physical growth, we deliver vitamin A and deworming to children under 5.

Vitamin Angels (in partnership with World Wide Village) offers critical access to vitamin A and Albendazole to young children. Two doses of vitamin A every year during early childhood supports healthy immune systems, promotes growth, prevents blindness, and improves child development overall. Adding Albendazole, an antiparasitic, helps ensure optimal child health and nutrition. We also provide supplementary feeding and nutrition counseling interventions for pregnant women and young children to address food insecurity and improve dietary diversity.

We offer these evidence-based nutrition interventions along with technical assistance and advocacy efforts to create a supportive environment for underserved pregnant women and children up to five years.

https://vitaminangels.org/our-work/

Our WWV midwife Magdala and nurse Gessica shared that the de-worming medication has been especially helpful for many children. Several of these children have brought in large parasitic worms that they were able to pass thanks to the Albendazole. They were happy to show our medical staff members just how thankful they were!

Parasitic worms prevent children from optimally absorbing the nutrients they do receive, causing stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting. Being rid of the worms – and preventing future worms – is so very important to fighting malnutrition.