By Becca Renk

(Becca Renk has lived and worked in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua for 25 years with the Jubilee House Community and its project, the Center for Development in Central America. Recently she participated in a webinar, “Nicaraguan Programs of Maternal & Child Health: A Cross-National Comparison.” You can watch the webinar recording here.)

I gave birth to both of my daughters at home with an attending OB/GYN, a pediatrician, a nurse, my husband Paul as support, Kathleen as a doula, various other members of our community in the room, and in the case of my older daughter, also with the pet monkey Bella watching from outside the window. (“You told me it was just going to be two people,” the doctor chided me afterward, “You never mentioned the monkey!”)

At the time, in the early 2000s, it was common for Nicaraguan women to give birth at home. But unlike my neighbors, I had the privilege and resources to pay for prenatal care and to hire a doctor to attend the births. For most women, regular checkups were difficult to access, and impossible for women in rural areas who were far from health centers. Women were afraid to go to the hospital, and often opted to give birth at home with only a lay midwife and no emergency services if things went wrong. From 1990 to 2006, Nicaragua suffered under neoliberal governments which stripped the people of their basic rights – health care and education had essentially been privatized – and pregnant women in particular were affected.

Our younger daughter Orla was born in 2006, shortly after Nicaragua had once again elected a Sandinista-led government, a government which has been re-elected in three subsequent elections. President Daniel Ortega declared health care and education free again immediately upon entering office and over the 18 years of Orla’s life, we have seen how this government has set about restoring Nicaraguan’s rights with particular emphasis on women’s rights.

Last week, Nicaragua celebrated its biggest holiday. Bigger than Christmas, or Easter, or even the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is a day when Nicaraguans celebrate the holiest of holies: their moms.

Mother’s Day in Nicaragua is on May 30th and it is a mandatory paid holiday. All around the country, people celebrated their mothers with gifts, food, cake, and pinatas. At the Nueva Vida Clinic we are preparing chop suey for 100 people and the men on staff are organizing a program replete with dance numbers. But in Nicaragua, honoring mothers is not just lip service paid one day a year. Over the past 18 years, the Nicaraguan government has honored mothers every day in tangible ways, such as taking care of women during pregnancy, birth, and beyond.

Worldwide, pregnancy and childbirth can be dangerous, but 80% of maternal deaths are entirely preventable. Nicaragua has proven this: despite being one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, since 2007 it has managed to reduce maternal mortality by 79.8%, reduce neonatal mortality by 62.5% and reduce infant mortality rates by 58.6%.

Through the country’s universal free healthcare system, all prenatal, childbirth and post-natal care in Nicaragua is offered countrywide free of charge – c-sections, premature births, neonatal ICU stays and, incredibly, even fetal surgeries are all free. Nicaragua is the only Central American country offering this type of surgery free in the public health system.

Home births like mine and so many of my neighbors are now nearly unheard-of – 97% of all births are in hospitals. In rural communities where we work, lay midwives who once attended home births have now been incorporated into the healthcare system to provide prenatal care and in-hospital birth support.

In Nicaragua, 75 hospitals have been built new or remodeled since 2007 to make giving birth in a hospital a possibility even for rural families. Respect for Nicaragua’s diverse cultures has been incorporated into new hospital birthing facilities so that Indigenous women can safely give birth squatting or standing up, the way that women in their communities have traditionally given birth.

For those who still live far from hospitals, a network of 201 maternal wait homes around the country provide space for more than 72,000 women per year to stay near a hospital for the last two weeks of their pregnancy. Food, housing and vocational training is provided free of charge, women rest and are checked by medical staff regularly, and when they go into labor they give birth safely in the hospital nearby.

Post-partum, Nicaraguan women and their babies receive free quality healthcare and working women are guaranteed full pay maternity benefits. Last month, the maternity leave law was increased from 84 days to 91 days of mandatory paid leave. Free daycare programs around the country provide care, meals and preschool for babies and children up to six years of age so their moms can work.

In fact, Nicaraguans today have much better access to perinatal care than my home state of Idaho. In March of 2023, the hospital where I was born – Bonner County General Hospital – stopped attending births. With this closure, the nearest hospital with perinatal care is now at least an hour away. But many families in rural North Idaho are low-income, lacking health insurance, and with limited access to reliable transport. For these families, the journey to the hospital might be as long as three hours in good weather and longer in a north Idaho winter. There are women and babies who are dying.

Unfortunately, while Idaho’s case is extreme, it is not alone: according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, maternal mortality rates in 2021 increased by 40 percent over the previous year across the U.S., and outcomes are uneven, with Black women disproportionately dying during pregnancy.

How is it that a Third World country like Nicaragua has better maternity care than one of the richest countries in the world?

The answer is that the Nicaraguan government has the political will to provide that care. Over the past 18 years, eradicating maternal and infant mortality has been a top priority that is carefully followed up on at all levels.

Recently I was at the local public hospital where I live in Ciudad Sandino, just outside Managua. The director was ordering exams for a 19-year-old woman who was pregnant and very close to her due date. She had just returned from the United States, where she had been working but couldn’t afford to see a doctor. She’d had no bloodwork, no ultrasounds, no prenatal care at all. She had returned to Nicaragua where she could give birth safely for free without incurring debt, but she was returning as a high-risk pregnancy due to lack of care. The hospital director personally ensured that she was transferred to the maternity hospital in Managua for specialized care.

For Nicaragua’s healthcare system, a pregnant woman or her baby dying is an unacceptable outcome, and healthcare workers at all levels take every possible measure to prevent that.

The result of this is that no pregnant women have died in Ciudad Sandino over the past three years. Nationwide, only 21 pregnant women died last year. Simply put, Nicaragua is taking every step possible to ensure that pregnant women survive to celebrate Mother’s Day.

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Briefs
By Nan McCurdy 

Drinking water coverage reaches 95%
The Sandinista government, through its Nicaraguan Water and Sewer Company (ENACAL). has reached 95% drinking water coverage nationwide compared to the 65% coverage registered before 2007, Alina Lagos, executive vice-president of the institution, told INFORME PASTRÁN. ENACAL is carrying out multiple projects throughout the country, with investments of millions of dollars aimed at improving the quality of life. In the city of León, the construction of a drinking water project was completed with an investment of more than US$40 million, which includes the installation of 198 kilometers of pipelines. In addition, three wastewater treatment plants are being rehabilitated and two new ones are under construction; at 95% completion, they are scheduled to be inaugurated this year. In Chinandega, a wastewater treatment plant was recently inaugurated and is already serving several neighborhoods, while in Nandaime, more than US$5 million was invested in a drinking water project that has improved service in previously underserved neighborhoods. Other notable projects include Masaya, with investments of US$21 million in potable water and US$18 million in sanitary sewerage; and Managua, where a storage tank was built in Las Pilas with financing from Japan for US$10 million. While ENACAL reported 95% coverage in drinking water and 55% in sanitary sewerage at the end of 2024, the goal is to reach 99.1% in drinking water and between 75-80% in sanitation by 2030. (Informe Pastran, 29 May 2025)

200 Mothers Receive Lots in the Bismarck Martinez Housing Program
The Mayor’s Office of Managua will hand over deeds to property lots to women of District VI, on the occasion of Mother’s Day, reported the Co-President Rosario Murillo. “Tomorrow 200 new property lots will be delivered through the Bismarck Martinez Program in the Villa Esperanza Urbanization to mothers in honor of Mother’s Day.” She added that, “Nicaraguan mothers are brave, heroic, hardworking, they are fighters and full of hope.” Murillo also said that more than 40,000 activities are being carried out around the country in salute to Nicaraguan mothers, among which stands out the visit of mothers and family members to the eight prisons of the country as well as the cleaning of the country’s cemeteries. Nicaraguan Mother’s Day is always on May 30 and is a national holiday. (La Primerisima, 30 May 2025)

Nicaragua is Co-Founder of Global Mediation Organization
On May 30, Attorney General Wendy Morales represented Nicaragua at the founding of the International Organization for Mediation (OlMed), the first intergovernmental organization dedicated exclusively to mediation for the resolution of international disputes. China, promoter of the initiative, describes OlMed as a powerful multilateral tool that marks a turning point in the construction of a new just, peaceful, multicentric and pluripolar world order. OlMed is based on essential principles such as respect for the sovereignty of States, self-determination of peoples, good faith and legal certainty. It is the result of China’s efforts to create an intergovernmental organization dedicated to mediation and is the world’s first international intergovernmental legal organization dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation as a peaceful means of maintaining peace based on mutual respect and understanding. About 400 high-level representatives from 85 countries and nearly 20 international organizations attended the signing ceremony. Thirty-three countries, including Nicaragua, Pakistan, Indonesia, Belarus and Cuba signed the convention on the spot, making them founding members of the IOMed. The IOMed will be headquartered in Hong Kong. (La Primerisima, 30 May 2025)

237 New Museums Created Nationwide
The government has been the driving force in the creation of seven new museums this year: the Archaeological Museum in Chinandega; Coffee Museums in the municipalities of El Crucero, El Tuma La Dalia and El Cuá; Museums of the Revolution in La Paz Centro and Mateare; and the Museum of the Birthplace of Josefa Toledo de Aguerrí in the city of Juigalpa. [Toledo de Aguerri (1866-1962) was a pioneering educator, writer, and feminist.] It was reported during the new openings, that there are now a total of 237 spaces of this type in the country, mainly museums of the Revolution, community museums, and museums about livestock and coffee agriculture. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/a-nivel-nacional-se-han-instalado-237-museos/

(La Primerisima, 29 May 2025)

Photovoltaic Plant to Be Built in Nindirí
The construction of the ENESOLAR photovoltaic project in the municipality of Nindirí, Department of Masaya, will begin this week, reported Co-President Rosario Murillo.

She said that “the photovoltaic plant, ENESOLAR 3, will be built with support from the Chinese State Company CCCC.” She added that this project will have a capacity of 70 megawatts to boost ENACAL’s [the national water company] pumping systems and improve water services for the population.” Rosario reported that this project has “an investment of US$81 million with solidarity financing from the People’s Republic of China.” (La Primerisima, 2 June 2025)

New Homes for Several Families in Tipitapa 
On May 30, Mother’s Day, three families from Tipitapa received the keys to their new houses leaving behind the precarious conditions in which they had lived. This is part of the program of restauration of rights promoted by the Sandinista Government through INVUR and the Mayor’s Office of Tipitapa. Nidia Ávalos, resident of the Anexo San Francisco neighborhood, was visited last December when she was still living in a small tin house with her family. On Mother’s Day, she received her new house valued at about US$9,000. In Ciudadela San Martin, Maria Anselma Hernandez lived with her daughters and grandchildren in conditions of extreme poverty. Her makeshift home is now a thing of the past after receiving her new house, given as a tribute to Nicaraguan mothers. In the Tipitapita sector, Marino Mendoza Picado, who had built a small house with pieces of tin roofing and wood, now lives in a decent house built on his own land. See before and after photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/cambia-totalmente-condiciones-de-vida-de-3-familias-en-tipitapa/ (La Primerisima, 31 May 2025)

In June 2 Speech, President Welcomes Returning Nicaraguans
On June 2, during the ceremony for the promotion of Bayardo Rodríguez (Army Chief of Staff) and Marvin Corrales (Army Inspector General) to the rank of Colonel General of the Army, President Daniel Ortega described the behavior of the US authorities against migrants in their country as fascist and expressed Nicaragua’s solidarity with all those persecuted brothers and sisters. He spoke of the suffering of the Venezuelans and Nicaraguans abroad. He condemned Donald Trump’s order of expulsion for more than 500,000 Latin American citizens. “Today I want to express our solidarity with all those persecuted and in particular the Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, who always have Nicaragua’s doors open, and who have been arriving in flights and are very well taken care of [here],” he said. “We tell them, do not think of returning to the United States again, it is a terrible what is going on there. Our solidarity is with all those families who are being persecuted. Our solidarity is with those who have returned to Nicaragua and we tell them: this is your land, this is your homeland, and here you will be able to work in peace,” he added.

The president also said that a plan will be designed with the objective of reducing deaths in streets and highways of the country. “That, I would say, is a priority, for the life and the health of Nicaraguan families, for the families of the drivers themselves because, due to high speeds, drivers perish and hit pedestrians and bikers and those who ride horses, or those who ride motorcycles. We have to make a security plan to safeguard the lives of Nicaraguans, in public and private transportation,” he said. The plan includes having much lower speed limits.

He emphasized that the construction of new hospitals is accompanied by direct attention to the population, through the Mobile Clinics that go to the neighborhoods and communities. “This is fundamental attention that we have prioritized because the first duty we have as revolutionaries, as Sandinistas, as Nicaraguans, is to watch over the lives of Nicaraguans.”

President Ortega said that “we will continue to develop the programs that have been carried out throughout these years, in all fields; in the fields of education, in the field of academic training, that is to say, from the first grades to the post grads, and the courses that have been developed, and also where we are making progress with exchange and cooperation with countries that have a great scientific development and that are already coming here to transfer knowledge.”

Ortega reiterated his commitment to peace both nationally and internationally and condemned the attacks in the Gaza Strip. The poor people are fleeing, persecuted, like the Nazi persecution against the Jews, he said.

He highlighted the joint regional efforts in security and the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime. The Nicaraguan Army has been able to establish an instrument where Central American armies can make plans to defend the security of our countries, he said. (La Primerisima, 2 June 2025)

First Section of Coastal Highway Completed
The first phase of the Coastal Highway on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast (from Masachapa to the border with Costa Rica) is divided into three sections: Section I: From Masachapa to the town of Las Salinas, with an approximate length of 67 kilometers. Section II: From the town of Las Salinas to San Juan del Sur, with a length of 38 kilometers. Section III: From San Juan del Sur to the border with Costa Rica, with a length of 36 kilometers.

The first 60 kilometers is complete; it is part of a 119-kilometer section that goes from Masachapa [about an hour’s drive from Managua] to Las Salinas and is part of the ambitious 335-kilometer initiative all along the Pacific coast which seeks to transform connectivity and boost tourism, agriculture and fishing in the region. The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Óscar Mojica, highlighted the immediate impact: “We are seeing a significant expansion in the flow of tourists to 64 beaches benefited in this first stage.” The road incorporates drainage systems, signage, environmental measures and sidewalks. The second phase, of 97 kilometers, will go from Masachapa to Poneloya [near Leon]; completion is scheduled for 2026. Director of Roads of the Ministry of Transportation, Harold Tellez said that 47 bridges are being built on the coastal road. “This helps us to have more confidence, more safety at the moment of passing through the areas, which historically were a flood zones.” See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/concluyen-primer-tramo-de-la-carretera-costanera/ (La Primerisima, 3 June 2025)

New Parks and Recreational Spaces Open
Different municipalities are making progress in the improvement and construction of spaces for recreation, leisure and family enjoyment. The week of June 2 to 7, parks and recreational spaces are scheduled to open in several municipalities. In Jinotega, the beautification of the Carlos Fonseca Amador Central Park in the Mauricio Altamirano neighborhood will be completed. In Totogalpa, the construction of the second stage of the park in the Ceiba de Oro community is in progress. In San Rafael del Norte, the Urania Zelaya Park in the Luis Zeledón neighborhood is being improved and in Santa María, a green and recreational area is being built in the Rodolfo Gutiérrez neighborhood. (La Primerisima, 3 June 2025)