Posted on January 11, 2011

Partnership Announced to Combat Severe Childhood Malnutrition in Haiti

Partners in Health, Abbott Laboratories, and the Abbott Fund have announced a new partnership to develop a nutritional food facility in Haiti that will enable Haitians to produce locally sourced, high-quality, nutritious food products. Valued at more than $6.5 million, the initiative includes contributions from the global healthcare company, its philanthropic foundation, and consulting services provided by Abbott employees.

The new facility will be located near PIH's main hospital in Cange, in Haiti's central plateau region, and will be focused on producing Nourimanba, a nutritious, peanut-based, ready-to-use food product developed by PIH to treat severe childhood malnutrition. The facility, which is scheduled to open in early 2012, will be equipped with sturdy, low-maintenance equipment suited to operations in Haiti.

"This ambitious partnership between PIH, Abbott, and the Abbott Fund will help to address severe malnutrition in Haiti, while also serving as an example of how partnerships can help to provide economic empowerment for local communities," said PIH co-founder Paul Farmer. "PIH and Abbott experts are working shoulder to shoulder with Haitian farmers and community health workers to create local, sustainable solutions to treat malnutrition in children. By sharing the collective expertise and resources of business, nonprofit organizations, and civil society, we can help the people of Haiti build back better."