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POPULATION: 5,891,199
ACTIVE IN: Departments of Jinotega, León, Managua and Neuva Segovia
PROGRAMS: Economic Development, Water & Sanition, Maternal & Child Health, Disease Prevention, Humanitarian Assitance
A CAUSE FOR CONCERN
Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in Latin America with over 45% of its population living at less than $1 a day. The situation is especially dire for women and children who endure extremely poor health conditions in Nicaragua where one of every three children suffer from chronic malnutrition and maternal mortality rates remain especially high. Small farmers are trapped in a cycle of poverty by a lack of understanding commercial crop options (such as higher value and higher quality crops) and poor access to market information, which prevents them from obtaining optimal pricing for their products.
PCI HAS REDUCED THE MALNUTRITION RATE BY 35% IN CHILDREN UNDER THREE THROUGHOUT SELECT COMMUNITIES OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS. | OVERVIEW
Project Concern International (PCI) began working in Nicaragua in 1991 to improve the health and well-being of women and children in poor urban areas of Managua. Since then, PCI has implemented a diverse portfolio of programs in 15 of the 18 regions of Nicaragua, designing and establishing interventions to address the varied development needs of the country. PCI strives to improve the quality of life, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable families, through targeted interventions in health, nutrition, education, human rights, agriculture, the environment, women’s and economic empowerment, and water and sanitation. In Nicaragua, PCI has also been active in immediate relief as well as long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts in response to Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and Hurricane Felix in 2007.
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Since 2002, PCI has been working with small-scale farmers in Nicaragua to help them grow higher quality crops; sell their crops for the best price, and increase their family income. Specifically, to help farmers increase their productivity, PCI’s Centers for Rural Development provide hands-on research and training for small farmers as well as a place for testing new agricultural technologies. In addition, through a revolving credit fund, farmers have been able to increase their agricultural production and to bring their crops to market.
PCI also helps agricultural producers strengthen their “commercialization” opportunities by assisting them in developing business plans, promoting soil and water conservation activities, and the proper use of pesticides, which helps farmers sell their products at a higher market price.
WATER AND SANITATION
Improved sanitary conditions and hygiene practices are critical to a community’s health. PCI has provided clean, potable water and improved household hygiene through the construction of over 115 community-wide water systems in Jinotega. Each water system PCI builds provides access to safe, clean water for all community families for 20 years.
In addition to the construction of wells, latrines, and natural gravity-fed mini-aqueducts, PCI has trained over 100 Water and Sanitation Committees, made up of local leaders and community health volunteers, who provide hygiene education, promote personal hygiene, the importance of a clean living environment, food preparation, proper ways of obtaining and storing potable water, and the use and maintenance of latrines in the communities where PCI works.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH
In the fertile, rural central highlands of Jinotega, Nicaragua, PCI is alleviating poverty and promoting holistic community development through programs that focus on solving the interconnected problems of deprivation, disease and malnutrition. One of the main objectives of these interventions is to ensure that women and children have improved access to nutritious food and quality health care. Through a community-based strategy that monitors the growth of children as well as provides counseling to parents and caretakers, PCI is improving the health and nutritional status of women, children, and their families. Project achievements are enhanced by community health workers who conduct household visits throughout the hundreds of remote villages of Jinotega to provide counseling to mothers on topics such as breastfeeding, proper food intake, food preparation, and common health problems for young children.
Download PCI/Nicaragua Country Fact Sheet (English PDF / Spanish PDF)
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