Francesca Joseline Marhone Pierre

Biography

Dr Francesca Joseline Marhone Pierre, MD, MPH, MSc, has been the director of Haiti’s Food and Nutrition at the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) for the past 23 years. Among other things, she is also Haiti’s focal point to the Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) initiative, as well as Haiti representative to the Iodine Global Network. A pharmacist and medical doctor by training (State University of Haiti), Dr Marhone is also a nutrition specialist (MSc. Tulane) and public health specialist (MPH, Tulane). She has close to 40 years or experience, working from the community level up to the strategic levels involving planning, analysis, research, teaching and advocacy. She has developed a profound knowledge of nutritional health issues among the most vulnerable populations in her country.

A passionate advocate of keeping nutrition at the heart of sustainable development efforts in Haiti and of multisectoral approaches, Dr Marhone has introduced the concept of “public health agriculture”. This is a way to promote collaboration between the health and agricultural development sectors, as a path towards increased food and nutritional security. After the 2010 earthquake, she has also coordinated the development and implementation of the first integrated protocol for the management of acute malnutrition in Haiti. She remains a strong advocate of the integration of nutritional health needs and concerns in national policies and priorities, as demonstrated with the recent development of a partnership between MSPP, the ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and rural Development (MARNDR), the Ministry of Social Affairs and Work (MAST) and food producers. Finally, Dr Marhone has contributed to serval scientific publications in international journals.