Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Demographics
History
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
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
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
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:
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.
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.
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.
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)
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>