Health care has consistently been a huge issue in Nicaragua. In class we learned that there exists a healthcare disparity amongst the national population due to geographic location. The western region of Nicaragua is home to major cities like Managua and concentrated with people. However, as we move inland toward the east, the population size starts to decrease. These rural communities are often hard to travel to especially because there is not good road system set up for the rocky terrain. Since most the the health care providers are concentrated in western major cities, the people in these rural communities don’t have much access to healthcare (Krasnoff 129). With a total of 2,404 doctors in 2007 it is even more difficult to provide widespread healthcare. This means that there is only one doctor for every 2500 people (Krasnoff 129). Of the total number of doctors, about one-fourth are all concentrated in Managua (Krasnoff 129). This leaves the autonomous regions and other rural communities very vulnerable to disease and improper medical attention.

As long as MINSA keeps putting off any efforts to improve outreach to rural communities, the people in them will continue to suffer from a lack of healthcare. This could expedite the transmission of diseases that might have otherwise been detected had the patient been in Managua. When Dr. Jim Saunders, a doctor specializing in ear surgery, came to visit our class he told us a little bit about the work that he and the medical team have done when they go to Nicaragua. He talked about a project where the volunteer team provided an earpiece to people with hearing disabilities and how much of an impact it made. It made me realize that if a patient had received the proper medical attention from the start, his life would be completely different; something as simple as an earpiece, which would have been available in a major city like Managua, could have improved his life.

Dr. Jim Saunders and other volunteers who are part of the medical team in Nicaragua are making a huge impact on the lives many Nicaraguans. Because the volunteer team goes to rural communities where there isn’t healthcare available, the people do not have to make the trip to Managua. However, I think that in order to increase the benefits, large organizations like MINSA need to get involved and set up primary care centers further out in the easter part of Nicaragua where access to a doctor is very limited.

Source:

1. Krasnoff Margo J., “Nicaragua I.” Building Partnerships in the Americas. 116-131. Hanover: Dartmouth College Press, 2013. Print.