Haiti: SPRING Final Country Report, 2012-2015

SPRING launched activities in Haiti in April 2012, collaborating with the Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population (MSPP). Children under five years of age, pregnant and lactating women, and people living with HIV were the direct beneficiaries of our three-year program. In Haiti, the SPRING project pursued one objective: to strengthen the nutrition assessment, counseling, and support continuum of care in 17 secondary and tertiary health facilities.

Within the Haitian medical system, a nutritional assessment, counseling, and support (NACS) program was already in place when SPRING began; however, the MSPP had concerns about how successfully health facilities were employing the approach. One of our main project goals was providing the leadership needed to strengthen policy and advocacy for NACS throughout levels of healthcare providers.

SPRING developed program plans based upon findings from a 2012 baseline assessment, including the integration of services for prevention and treatment of undernutrition, targeting 17 health facilities. A major component of the project's success was JSI's ability to work closely with the MSPP and country partners, providing trainings and national supervision tools for nutrition. More than 500 health providers were trained and the target facilities where SPRING worked demonstrated an understanding of the importance of quality improvement in the continuum of care. This strong partnership increased the sustainability of the project.

In Haiti, the SPRING project contributed to improved quality and increased availability of nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, children under five years of age, and people living with HIV. Our project's interventions included: developing standards of care; strengthening technical capacity; providing equipment; and improving quality. There was a substantial increase in the number of people receiving nutrition services at facilities SPRING supported.

This document provides the details of the project objectives and approaches, the results, lessons learned, and best practices. Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING) Project/JSI. 2015.