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Appeal for basic drugs in Nicaragua

Health workers in Nicaragua have launched a UK appeal for financial assistance to open People’s Pharmacies, to provide basic drugs that are now virtually impossible to obtain through the country’s crumbling health service.

Under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, Nicaragua’s right-wing UNO government has slashed the country’s healthcare budget to a third of its level under the previous Sandinista administration.

Last year, 3,000 health workers, including 500 doctors and 500 nurses, were pressurised to opt out of the health service under an IMF-funded ‘conversion plan’ aimed at cutting public spending and opening up the economy to private interests.

Health workers were paid between $1,000 and $1,500 each to leave their jobs, which were then abolished, resulting in a loss of about 24,000 consultations a day.

In the last three months, underfunding has resulted in all the national hospitals reducing services to emergency only. Now, even if people can get access to a doctor, they are unable to buy the drugs needed for their treatment. In response, the country’s main health service union, FETSALUD, has launched a campaign to open People’s Pharmacies.

They could mean the difference between life and death for many people, FETSALUD international secretary Andres Zamorra told healthmatters. ‘What is the use of people travelling great distances to see a doctor if they can’t obtain drugs to treat their illness?’ he asked.

The first pharmacy, opened in January, cost $11,000 to run in its first three months, but should be self-financing by the end of the year, Zamorra said. Another five are planned if funds can be raised.

Information on the Trade Union Appeal for Nicaragua is available from the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, c/o Red Rose Club, 227 Seven Sisters Road, London N7 7QG. Tel: 071-272 9619. Donations should be sent to the same address.