On November 19, we had the great pleasure of welcoming Dr. Joseline Marhone Pierre, Director of Haiti’s Food and Nutrition Program, to our speaker series, co-hosted by the Brown School’s MPH program and the E3 Nutrition Lab. Dr. Marhone is trained as a physician, a pharmacist, and nutritionist, and with over forty years of experience in the field, she is the definition of an expert. As a representative of the Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population, she gave a brief history of nutrition strategies and policies in Haiti. Dr. Marhone emphasized the importance of agriculture, education, employment, and health services working together to combat this chronic nutrition crisis. For children under 5 years old, the prevalence of anemia is 66%, and the prevalence of stunting, a sign of chronic malnutrition, is 22%. In fact, children under five years old are given nicknames rather than official names because of the increased likelihood of childhood death. She passionately declared that this should not and cannot be normalized, calling on the audience to join her in the battle to improve the health of the Haitian people through trans-disciplinary solutions, technical assistance, and a broader reach across Haiti’s geographic regions. Thank you, Dr. Marhone, for your presence, for sharing your expertise, and for inspiring us all to contribute to ending global hunger and malnutrition!
