Investigating Child Undernutrition Rates in Haiti Post-Earthquake with Geospatial Data Methods

Brianna Williams

27 April 2020

Abstract:

Often known as the “chief child killer,” undernutrition is a prevalent public health issue in developing countries due to the long-term effects such as inadequate dietary intake and diseases, as well as short term effects like natural disasters and political turmoil. Since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, tackling nutrition issues amongst children has become a quintessential sustainable development goal since 29.7% of children in Haiti are experiencing “moderate malnutrition,” while 18.9% are categorized as “severely malnourished.” In order to analyze the effects the earthquake had on nutrition rates among children, researchers analyze specific sectoral conditions that have a direct disruption on improving conditions, including drinking water, sanitation, energy/fuel, food supply, healthcare, and clearing of debris by the disaster. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) and ordinary least squares regression models (OLS) that used DHS and spatial video data source investigate the effectiveness of post natural disaster resources distribution in terms of nutrition and concluded that undernutrition rates in children declined from 17.7% to 10.5% in the months following the natural disaster. Immediate provision of humanitarian assistance has significantly increased aid rates; however, the mortality rate declined again four months after the disaster. In addition, they studied other external conditions that initially improved nutritional levels. The central research question inquires that data collecting method accurately depicts the change in child undernutrition rates following the 2010 earthquake. There is lack of research as to how the earthquake specific humanitarian aid altered these rates, especially since there was a severe cholera outbreak around the same time. In the future, continually improving the verifiability of the survey data and identifying specific sectoral conditions can help target patterns in children who suffer from undernutrition.