Abbott to ally with PIH on Haiti relief efforts

Abbott is entering into an alliance with the not-for-profit organisation Partners in Health (PIH) to help address the issue of malnutrition in underprivileged Haiti.

The new partnership between Abbott's philanthropic organisation the Abbott Fund and PIH will involve the construction of a nutritional food production facility in the nation, which is the poorest in the western hemisphere.

It will be used in the production of a peanut-based therapeutic food product from PIH called Nourimanba and will help to lay the foundations for a sustainable nutritional project in the region.

This comes as part of a longstanding programme of efforts by Abbott to improve healthcare quality in Haiti.

Katherine Pickus, divisional vice-president for global citizenship and policy at the company, said: "Abbott … looks forward to working together with PIH to build a new nutrition production facility, train local staff and empower local communities to develop long-term solutions to malnutrition in Haiti."

Last month, Abbott agreed a deal with EpiTherapeutics that will see the two companies jointly conduct research into epigenetic oncology over the next three years.