Identifying nutritional considerations in planning a rural development project in N. Haiti

Abstract

In testing methods for introducing nutritional considerations into project planning, a combined agro/economic and nutrition survey was carried out on a representative sample of 261 households from a proposed project area in north Haiti. This paper reports results of analyses to determine targetting priorities and examine whether income generation is likely to induce improvement in nutrition. It also studied differences in associations between income source (farm, off-farm, subsistence, major crops grown) and nutritional status. Targetting more remote areas was shown to be important. Income was associated with nutritional status (height-for-age) in the upper half of the income distribution, but not the lower half. Income from any of the sources examined had the same relation with nutritional status. One conclusion was that targetting income-generating project activities to remoter areas and small-landholders was worthwhile and could, in the long-run, improve nutrition after a threshold level of income was reached.

Malnutrition and Poverty in the Early Stages of Famine: North Darfur, 1988–90

“…The relationship is often significant because of large sample size rather than a strong association between malnutrition and poverty indicators. In a study in Haiti, distance to road, and income per head only accounted for 15 per cent of the variation in height-for-age (Mason et al, 1985). In another study in the same country, variables reflecting economic resources explained 25.5 per cent of the variance in weight-for-age (Smith et al, 1983).…”

“…better reflect poverty than weight-forheight because height-for-age in older children reflects past nutrition, and therefore the environment that the child grew up in. In the study in Haiti, Mason et al (1985) found that height-for-age, but not weight-for-height, was related to income and land holding.…”

“…In non-famine situations, researchers have attempted to define the relationship between anthropometric status and indicators of poverty, to identify the main factors associated with malnutrition and to prioritize interventions that will reduce nutritional risk. Indicators of poverty have included for example: income, land ownership, parental education and housing type (Nabarro, 1981;Martorell et al, 1984;Valverde et al, 1977 andSmith et al, 1983;Mason et al, 1985;Harriss et al, 1990;Tomkins et al, 1986). In many of these studies, a significant association between an anthropometric index and a particular indicator of poverty was shown (Martorell et al, 1984;Becker et al, 1986;Valverde et al, 1981) but for most it was also true that 'poor children are not necessarily malnourished, and malnourished children are not necessarily poor' (Harriss et al, 1990).…”

Sustainable Growth in Haiti: Creating Meaningful Change in the Developing World

“…An anthropological study was conducted in the 1980's by Mason, Ahlers, Henderson, Shorr, and Tabatabai [9] on the nutritional status of northern Haiti and how those considerations should be considered in rural development projects. The initial theory of the study was that the improvement of agricultural resources in the region would decrease the malnutrition of members of rural communities [9]. Improving the reliability and productivity of the local food sources should increase food security and access within the region.…”

“…However, the study found that while this assumption was supported by the data, the reality of solving the food problems of the region was infinitely more complex than initially predicted. Agricultural improvements had a major impact on nutritional development, but the authors found that, infrastructure, education, economics, cultural interactions, and governmental policies also had significant effects on food security [9]. In general, it was demonstrated that the methods necessary to promote sustainable growth in a developing country like Haiti needed to be thoughtfully planned and considered, not attempted in a one off or ad hoc basis.…”