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 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- A prominent U.S. congresswoman called on Wednesday for a better-funded, systemic approach to fighting hunger in Haiti following an Associated Press report that child malnutrition is worsening. California Democrat Maxine Waters, a veteran member of the Congressional Black Caucus, urged the U.S. Agency for International Development to locate Haitian children in danger of starvation, citing a Nov. 21 AP report that malnutrition had contributed to the deaths of at least 26 children in the southeastern area of Baie d'Orange. USAID needs to make sure malnourished children are receiving appropriate therapy and evacuate them to hospitals or cities if necessary, she said. "The idea that children are dying of starvation right here in this hemisphere" is unacceptable, Waters said by phone. The U.S. Congress already pledged about $100 million in relief from the August and September tropical storms and hurricanes that hit Haiti, killing at least 793 people and causing $1 billion in damage. But Waters said not enough is being done.
"We are going to follow up with a combination of our ambassador and (President Rene) Preval and see if we can help to orchestrate something that's a little more extensive," she said. Aid workers discovered the pocket of malnutrition after nearly all of the children had died, and officials are still investigating to determine the exact causes of death. At least 65 more severely undernourished children were evacuated to hospitals or treated in tent clinics on site. USAID is taking the matter seriously and had already stepped-up ongoing programs to deliver food and health aid to the region, said Mari Tolliver, a U.S. embassy spokeswoman in Port-au-Prince. by Jonathan M. Katz
Associated Press Writer Published: Nov 26 2008 at 8:58 PM EST
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