Fertility Decline in Nicaragua 1980-2006 : A Case Study
Nicaragua, a largely urban country (56 percent of the population lives in urban areas), is one of the least populous (5.53 million) and poorest countries in CentralAmerica. Following reforms in the 1980s, Nicaragua made remarkable progress in gende...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/276621468331832776/Fertility-decline-in-Nicaragua-1980-2006-a-case-study http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27495 |
| Summary: | Nicaragua, a largely urban country (56
percent of the population lives in urban areas), is one of
the least populous (5.53 million) and poorest countries in
CentralAmerica. Following reforms in the 1980s,
Nicaragua made remarkable progress in gender equity in
education and the labor force, while the wide availability
of primary health care initiated in the 1970's,
including family planning services, led to improvements in
infant and child mortality rates. Several lessons emerge
from Nicaragua's success at reducing fertility. The
government was committed to gender equity and female
empowerment through educating girls and women and recruiting
women into the labor force. Family planning services were
provided within a well functioning primary health care
system, including an extensive, efficient contraceptive
distribution network that works with international donors,
and international and national Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) to offer women a good mix of options.
Demand must be created through a timely public education
campaign. Success requires civic engagement with
stakeholders, which may initially mean avoiding unnecessary
confrontation and publicity of services for addressing the
concerns of more conservative stakeholders. |
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