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Nicaragua

By: Lina, Irvin, Julio,Evelyn

Demographics

Population: 5,727,707 (July 2011)


Birth Rate: 19.12 births/1,000

Religion: Roman Catholic ( 58.5%), Protestant (23.2%) the rest is other.

Language: Spanish (Official)


Literacy: age 15 and over can read & write: 67.5% Maternal Mortality Rate: 100 deaths/100,000 live births Children under 5 years who are underweight: about 4.3%

Death Rate: 5.04 deaths/1,000


Infant Mortality Rate: 21.86 deaths/1,000 births Life Expectancy at birth: 72.18 years

History

first settled by the Spanish in 1522

characterized by armed conflicts between liberals and conservatives with American interventions here and there with the Sandinistas in power
In 1990, the Sandinistas who had come into power by way of a violent rebellion handed over the power to the democratically elected Violeta Chamorro of their own accord--thus enacting the first time in recent world history that any rebellion has ever submitted to democratic elections and then peacefully stepped down from power.

Economy

Ranks 21st out of 29 countries in South/Central America/ Caribbean Region

GDP: $18.9 Billion


Unemployment: 8.0% Exports include: coffee, beef, tobacco, peanuts, sugar, shrimp and lobster

Imports: consumer goods, raw materials, petroleum products, machinery and equipment
Half of the population is underemployed Central America-Dominican Republic- United States Free Trade Agreement: has helped to diversify the economy Still remains among the poorest and least developed country in North & South America

Education

Somoza family dictatorship (1937-1979)


Nicaraguas illiteracy rate was about 75-90% in rural areas 50% overall Sandinista Revolution -More of the governments spending was going

towards building schools and helping to increase


the literacy rate

Education (con.)

President Daniel Ortega -Education is free for all -Nationwide literacy campaign -Doubled the budget spent on the education system Still, not all children are going to school since their families cannot financially support them In 2003, 823,000 children (out of 1.55 million) did not finish school year Government struggles to pay the bill for education A teacher is one of the lowest paying jobs ($185-$226 a month) the 2003

Attendance of Primary School Between 1991-2010

http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/docum ent.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=en&BR_Country=55 80

Food/Agriculture

Since its origin, the fundamental basis of Nicaraguan food has been corn

other ingredients widely used in the Nicaraguan kitchen, mostly local, tropical products.

Famous plates:

Nacatamal, Vigorn and Quesillo

Nicaragua's economy is predominantly agricultural

main agricultural exports are coffee, cotton, sugar, and bananas

Health Status/ Health Challenges


Nicaragua

faces inequity in access to health

services
Main

causes of death for children under 5 are: respiratory, diarrhea, malnutrition and meningitis. mortality rate is high compared to other nations because 55% of women give birth at home.

Maternal

Diseases

Communicable Diseases: Malaria, Dengue fever, TB, HIV/AIDS is rising but not significant, and Chagas disease. Non Communicable diseases: Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. These diseases require laboratories to diagnose but there is huge inequality in the amount of laboratories available. Most are found in the capital city. If tests are done, they take a long time if you live in a rural area. Unfortunately, this is where these diseases mostly happen.

Environment

Infrastructure is bad in Nicaragua as most healthcare facilities do not have a reliable source of electricity or potable water. The environment is not helping the situation. Natural disasters plague the country. It is highly vulnerable to hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, droughts and floods. When theses disasters occur, they destroy whatever small progress that had been made in regards to healthcare provision and infrastructure.

Nicaragua's Health Care Delivery Systems


40% of the population lacks access to health services. 78% of the economically active population has no health insurance. Health Services are mainly provided by the public sector and are financed through general taxes. Total health expenditure as a % of GDP: 7.6

Only a small percentage of the population receives private health care services.

MINSA

MINSA stands for Ministerio de Salud or Health Ministry. MINSA is the main provider of health services and officially covers about 70% of the population.

It is also a regulatory agency for health care.


MINSA has 1059 health facilities administered by 17 departmental governments.

Mission: MINSAs mission is to provide Nicaraguan citizens with individually tailored health services, to guarantee free and universal access to health services, and to promote healthy practices and lifestyles that will improve quality of life and life expectancy and maximize national efforts to foster human development.

Shortcomings

Health care workers make low wages that are comparable to those in laborious industries like mining and construction. General practitioners make $544 a month on average--the lowest in Central America. There is constant change and re-organization of personnel within MINSA due to changes in government every 4 years.

Delivery

They struggle with Diagnostics and Laboratory services due to the unequal distribution of these facilities around the country. Highly Inefficient and costly.
Infrastructure hinders good medical care as many facilities have no access to reliable sources of electricity or potable water. Overall, there is a shortage of well trained medical personnel. This ensures that quality of care is not very good.

They also suffer from irregular medical supplies and stock outs are common.
They have a very low budget that stems from the fact that Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Availability of Human Resources for Healthcare

Health care under Sandinistas rule improved, although the country was in serious debt after the Somoza dictatorship Many smaller medical clinics than hospitals, no advanced medical technology About 55% of women in rural areas give birth at home; 65% are illiterate Rely on international countries to provide aid and send supplies Poor dental health (1 dentist per 10,000 people)

Only 6.3% of entire population is insured


The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/WHO Strategic Plan 2003-2007 Ministry of Health

Center for Development in Central America (CDCA) increase access to health care

Bibliography
Education (all Levels) Profile - Nicaragua. UNESCO Institute for Statistics, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. <http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121 &IF_Language=en&BR_Country=5580>. "Education in Nicaragua." Education in Nicaragua. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. <http://www.mapsofworld.com/nicaragua/education/>. "Nicaragua : The Sandinista Government." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/413855/Nicaragua/4099 3/The-Sandinistagovernment>. "Medical Care in Nicaragua." Nicaragua. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. <http://www.canaturnicaragua.org/medical-care-in-nicaragua.html>. -Halperin, DC, and R. Garfield. Developments in Health Care in Nicaragua. PubMed, 5 Aug. 1982. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7088111>. -Country Cooperation at a Glance: Nicaragua. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_nic_en.pdf>. -"Nicaragua." Nicaragua. Global Natural Health Alliance, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://gnhalliance.org/Nicaragua.html>. -"Health For All." Health Care in Nicaragua. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.jhc-cdca.org/health.html>.

"Child and Maternal Health Issues in Nicaragua." Child and Maternal Health Issues in Nicaragua. Foundation for Sustainable Development, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. Sequeira M, Espinoza H, Amador JJ, Domingo G, Quintanilla M, and de los Santos T. The Nicaraguan Health System. Seattle, Washington: PATH; 2011. CIA World Factbook. Nicaragua Demographics Profile 2012. 08 Feb. 2013 <http:www.indexmundi.com/nicaragua/demographics_profile.html> Nicaragua. 2013 Index of Economic Freedom. 08 Feb. 2013 <http://www.heritage.org/index/country/nicaragua>

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