International Organizations, Health Services, and Nation Building in Nicaragua

Abstract

Recent studies have noted a new conservatism among international health organizations as they shift from policies of comprehensive primary health care to more vertical programs of disease control in the Third World. Health care efforts in Nicaragua since 1979 offer an arena in which to analyze the role of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in the elaboration of Nicaragua's health development policy and practice over time. I conclude that international health organizations can play an important role in the consolidation of popular democracy in developing nations, especially when this is part of the political agenda of the host country.