Reaching the Most Vulnerable: Partnering with Haiti's Government

We sat down with Emily Janoch, Senior Technical Advisor for Knowledge Management and Learning at CARE, to hear about a unique collaboration between USAID's Feed the Future, CARE, several other NGOs, and Haiti's Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST) to build a more sustainable safety net for the most vulnerable populations in Haiti. This case study demonstrates how USAID, CARE, and partners worked together to design a program with built-in accountability to the people it serves and a long-term vision of ownership for Haiti's government. The program focuses on maternal and child health and nutrition interventions for pregnant and lactating women and children under two years of age. It is implemented in 23 communes of 5 departments of Haiti. Beneficiaries get access to fresh fruits and vegetables, are able to participate in a formal market, and exercise their sense of dignity by being able to make their own food choices. In turn, local farmers are able to receive a fair price for their products, participate in a stronger market, and meet the needs of their community. This innovative approach also is setting the ground for a sustainable program that can be country-led and county-run in the future, in order to provide local systems that address the long-standing issues of chronic food insecurity. As a result of this food security program, over 109,790 people benefited from social assistance in the first year of program implementation, MAST created a vulnerability targeting and database for 30,000 households, and 9,720 households are building assets for self-reliance and risk management.