Health in Nicaragua is influenced by several factors including public health policies, the availability of healthcare facilities, environmental influences, individual lifestyle choices, and socioeconomic circumstances.
Nicaragua ranks as the second-least affluent nation in the Western Hemisphere.[1] Despite the challenges Nicaragua faces in improving public health, there has been a notable increase in life expectancy since the Sandanista Revolution of 1979, when it stood as low as 55 years old.[2] In comparison, life expectancy in Nicaragua at birth was 72 years for men and 78 for women in 2016.[3] While communicable diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika continue to persist as national health concerns, there is a rising public health threat of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, which were diseases previously thought to be more relevant and problematic for more developed nations.[4] Additionally, in the women's health sector, high rates of adolescent pregnancy and cervical cancer continue to persist as national concerns.[5] The infrastructure surrounding healthcare in Nicaragua faces challenges that may contribute to the exacerbation of health issues and hinder sustainable improvements. In the process of Nicaragua's democratization, there has been a general decrease in funding allocated to public services, coinciding with an increasing prevalence of privatization in healthcare, including both primary and secondary care.[6] Hence, access to healthcare (and states of health) varies considerably between urban and rural areas, as well as among different socioeconomic groups.[7]
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative[8] finds that Nicaragua is fulfilling 96.1% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income.[9] When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Nicaragua achieves 98.6% of what is expected based on its current income.[10] In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves only 89.7% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. [11] Nicaragua falls into the "good" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling 100.0% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.[12]