Matagalpa, Nicaragua

Our semi-annual trips to Matagalpa provide acute and preventative care to a population with few other health care resources. However, we also develop public health interventions and community partnerships to ensure the continuity of our efforts. In Matagalpa, NU-AID works closely with Casa de la Mujer, a local NGO and advocacy group that specializes in the needs of disenfranchised Nicaraguan women. This partnership with Casa de la Mujer is one of our oldest and strongest connections in Latin America, and we plan to bolster its scope in the coming year. We have recently developed a patient database to track the course of our repeat patients and to better assess the needs of the whole community.

The town of Matagalpa is the capital of the Matagalpa district in North-Central Nicaragua. The region is comprised of lush mountains interspersed with drier valleys and plains. The economy is primarily agricultural, with coffee as the major crop. Throughout its history, Matagalpa has received little of the governmental aid or development projects slated for larger cities in the South and West. This region was also particularly devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Recovery remains slow to this day.