Through the project "Integrated Multisectoral Intervention in North-West Department: Addressing Food Security, Nutrition, and WASH Needs", funded by USAID and running from 2024 to 2025, AVSI is strengthening the community in the North-West Department of Haiti, where where 5.7 million people face daily food insecurity.
Project activities include nutritional support for children and pregnant women, awareness campaigns on infant nutrition, training on hygiene and water treatment, and the provision of food assistance through cash and vouchers. Special attention is given to psychosocial support for families with children with disabilities—often among the most vulnerable and excluded from healthcare services.
Food Security: Economic Support for Families
AVSI has supported 1,180 vulnerable families with targeted financial aid to provide immediate help to those in greatest need.
This approach not only assists the recipient families but also strengthens local markets, supports vendors, and boosts the community’s economic resilience by purchasing food locally.
Nutrition: Monitoring and Support for Mothers and Children
A screening identified 3,242 children suffering from severe malnutrition. Activities are carried out in collaboration with local clinics and health workers, to monitor children under the age of five, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Currently, 255 children are receiving life-saving nutritional care and are being closely monitored at home—an essential service for families living far from healthcare centers.
"Before meeting AVSI, everything was very difficult, with five children to feed. Now I have access to food and money: I feel relieved. My son, who was suffering from malnutrition, was treated. Now he’s healthy. He has recovered."
— Cadet Lourdes, 34, one of the mothers involved in the program
Firsthand Accounts: The Video by Alessandro Grassani
In Northwest Haiti, farmers, mothers, nurses, and workers share how, thanks to AVSI’s support, their lives have changed: children recovered from malnutrition, parents became more aware, new income sources emerged, and local markets were strengthened.
Their stories demonstrate the real impact of an approach that combines emergency relief with development, placing human dignity at the center.
Watch the video by Alessandro Grassani to hear their stories.
