(“concept of national healthcare system” via http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-216365467/stock-photo-concept-of-national-healthcare-system-nicaragua.html)

11/03/16

The state of health care in Nicaragua is a complex issue. It is one that may look misleading in terms of targeting exact causes for its condition. Unfortunately, the healthcare services in the country are not great. During Week 8 of the course, we read Tesler’s “The social relations of health care and household resource allocation in neoliberal Nicaragua”. In it, Tesler says, “In compliance with neoliberal structural adjustment policies mandated by multilateral and bilateral agencies, government-provided health care services have been severely restricted in Nicaragua. As the national safety net for health care has been eroded, the viability of local level social formations and their ability to respond to struggles collectively has been put at risk as well. Bi-lateral and multilateral agencies need to take into account local needs and demands, and implement policies in a manner that respects national laws, and protects both the physical and social well-being of individuals.” Unfortunately, the problem is interwoven into many factors that prevents the ability to create an easy and effect fix. There needs to be a complete overhaul with the allocation of resources towards health care in the country for any positive change to occur.

Due to this, many individuals in the country find themselves with immense amounts of tension and frustration. This leads to effects such as structural violence. In the article, Peter Uvin “defines structural violence as ‘a condition in which the poor are denied decent and dignified lives because their basic physical and mental capacities are constrained by hunger, poverty, inequality, and exclu- sion,’ owing to political, economic and social factors”. This was one of the most informative quotes in the article to me. It is horrible when a human being is essentially predicted to suffer because his or her’s surroundings and nothing is being changed to prevent that. Another major concern that is apparent is how even when a Nicaraguan may become ill, he or she needs to continue to work tremendously to provide for their family. Taking the time to be treated means taking time of their day that could have been used to generate income for their family. Looking at it from a more broad scope, one could also argue that many Nicaraguans facing socioeconomic hardships may be the individuals needing health care services the most simply due to their stress levels and constantly exhausting their bodies. If one is always working, living with not enough food, and constantly dealing with the stress of needing to provide for their family every day, it may seem inevitable that the individual will get ill. After completing this course and going on the trip, I plan to further educate myself on the issues as well as the state of health care in many countries around the world. It is certainly an interesting topic and one that will hopefully gain the attention of many more students and professionals to potentially create positive change.