Country profile

Nicaragua      New Zealand Capital Managua Wellington Population 5.5 million 4.1 million Official language/s Spanish English and Maori Per capita income US$910 US$27,250 NZ$1=US$0.70 NZ$1,242 NZ$38,928 Life expectancy 70 years 80 years Under 5 mortality rate 37/1000 5/1000 Adult literacy 77% 99% (Source: UNICEF The State of the World's Children 2008)

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People
Most Nicaraguans are Mestizos, with both European and native American ancestry. However, native Americans in the Caribbean part of the country are ethnically distinct and have kept their tribal customs and languages. A large black minority is concentrated on the country’s Caribbean coast. More than half the population live in urban areas. The major religion is Roman Catholicism. The official language is Spanish, but many people living in the Caribbean coastal areas speak English too.

History
People from Mexico inhabited the Nicaraguan region from about the 10th century AD. The first Europeans arrived in 1502, and while the Spaniards controlled the interior of the country, the British extended their influence over the Caribbean coast.

Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. It was part of Mexico for a short time, then it joined the Central American Federation before finally achieving complete independence in 1838.

Nicaragua’s political history was variously marked by revolutions, dictatorships, US interventions, military rule and civil war from the early 1890s until 1990, when an internationally observed presidential election was held and the civil war ceased.

Economy
In November 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused massive destruction to roads, housing and farms, hampering Nicaragua’s efforts to rebuild its economy after years of political upheaval. The global fall in coffee prices has also adversely affected many farming families, forcing some to abandon their farms.

In recent years, Nicaragua’s government has liberalised foreign trade, reduced tariffs and eliminated most non-tariff barriers and foreign exchange controls. These moves have been at the urging of international lenders, to whom Nicaragua remains highly indebted.

Poverty levels have improved slightly across much of the country, except for the rural central region where they have worsened. However, Nicaragua does not compare favourably with other Latin American and Caribbean countries, with most social indicators worse than the regional average.

Geography
Nicaragua has three geographic regions - the Atlantic Lowlands on the east, the mountainous Central Region and the Pacific Lowlands on the west, which is the most populous of the three. The mainly tropical climate alternates between two seasons: rainy (June to November) and dry (December to May). Temperatures seldom go below 20°C.

Education
In 1993 Nicaragua introduced a reform that reduced Government spending on education, while giving managerial and budgetary autonomy to school-based councils. Schools in low socio-economic areas struggle to operate as they depend largely on fees, which are beyond the means of many families.

Dropout rates are high. Although primary education lasts for six years, the average Nicaraguan has less than five years of schooling. In very poor rural areas this can be much less.

As Nicaragua has a very young population, the pressure on classroom space forces schools to have morning and afternoon shifts. Some schools even have an evening shift that serves youths who work during the day. Access to early childhood education is limited.

Health
The national health system includes an integrated community network of brigadistas (volunteer health aides), midwives and other volunteers involved in health promotion and disease prevention activities. However, health facilities are generally poorly equipped and understaffed.

Safe drinking water and proper sanitation is not always available, so dysentery and diarrhoea are common. Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever pose a serious health problem, as does chronic malnutrition in young children.

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Nicaragua COUNTRY UPDATE

HIGH ALERT

“We can and must reduce the number and impact of disasters by building sustainable communities that have long-term capacity to live with risk.”
Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations

In 1998, Nicaragua and other countries in Central America hit the world’s spotlight when they were devastated by Hurricane Mitch. Nearly ten years later, in September 2007, Hurricane Felix, followed by more than 50 days of solid rain, again threatened survival in the region.

Recurring disasters like this lead to questions such as: What did we learn from Mitch? Has anything changed in those 10 years? How can we approach development for the future, planning for disasters?

For World Vision, Hurricane Mitch led to a steep learning curve. The results of many years of hard work were lost practically overnight. Harvests, which would have provided the food for the next year, succumbed as did major infrastructure works such as roads and buildings. Through the tears came people’s determination to rebuild in a way that prevented such extreme devastation from recurring.

World Vision’s current work in Nicaragua continues to call on the experience of Hurricane Mitch. To mitigate the effects of hurricanes, droughts and other disasters, World Vision teaches people to build stronger houses and construct robust sanitation and water systems to prevent contamination. It introduces crop diversification, hardy plant varieties and new methods of agriculture, and provides low-interest access to credit to help people rebuild their farms and small businesses in the wake of disasters. Reforestation helps absorb excess run-off while gutters direct water to the most appropriate course and help protect roads.

Community organisation is important and ensures people know where to go for help in times of crisis. Locals are trained in first aid so they can quickly assist injured people. World Vision establishes local emergency committees through each Area Development Programme (ADP), trains them in disaster preparation and response and links them with government emergency systems. Children and teenagers are trained to ensure the next generation is prepared for disasters too.

When the warning was issued for Hurricane Felix, emergency committee members worked with their neighbours to get everyone prepared. These committed volunteers made sure their community members knew what to do during the storm and where to access assistance after it had passed.

Hurricane Felix hit Nicaragua hard, and to make things worse, it rained for almost two months afterwards. In October 2007, Nicaragua’s president declared a national state of emergency. For World Vision Nicaragua, this also meant the highest level of emergency response. More than 200,000 people were affected and, once again, crops, homes, buildings and roads were destroyed.*

World Vision responded with emergency food and shelter, and planned a longer-term recovery and rehabilitation programme. It was able to use the emergency committees to quickly assess damage and decide where to focus assistance. The committees have also proven effective in helping World Vision distribute relief supplies and provide shelter for affected people.

World Vision-introduced prevention measures, such as crop diversification, have helped some farmers to cope. Enrique Barrera, a 58-year-old farmer from Tlilican, lost his bean crop. He says he will not be so badly affected because he diversifies his crops and income-generation activities. “Certain crops were less affected because they were at a more appropriate stage in their growth.”

Because hurricanes and other disasters will continue to occur in Nicaragua and around the world, World Vision will keep helping communities to prepare and recover.

* News on the New Zealand Child Sponsorship programmes: Aguas Azules ADP was mildly affected by this disaster; Tlilican ADP is in a highly affected region, but was spared from the levels of destruction affecting nearby communities. World Vision is assisting the communities to replant and rebuild damaged infrastructure.

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