The Fifth Maternal House Opened in Nicaragua

A maternal house built for Icelandic development contribution, was recently opened in the village La Cruz de Rio Grande in Nicaragua. Gísli Pálsson, ICEIDA’s Country Director in the country, handed over the house and gave a speech at the opening. The maternal house in La Cruz is the fifth and last house in this phase that is built for Icelandic funds.

The five maternal houses serve rural areas in Nicaragua and they are built close to hospitals or health centres and have the purpose of serving women who have risk pregnancies before and after the birth. The village La Cruz de Rio Grande is very remote and is situated far in the jungle at the edge of the great river Rio Grande de Matagalpa, at the northern tip of the southern self-ruled area on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua.

According to Gerður Gestdóttir, ICEIDA’s Project Manager for social projects in Nicaragua, the maternal death rate is considerably higher in this area than nationally. “Transportation is very difficult and the only way to get to a hospital is by sailing along rivers and lagoons to the capital of the area, Bluefields,” she says. “The trip takes about six hours on a good speed boat and three days with public transportation boats. Therefore, the residents of La Cruz mostly have to take care of their own health services and are currently building a new health centre next to the new maternal house. There will be beds for admittance, like the current one also has, but also a facility for minor surgeries. It is presumed that a surgeon will come to the area regularly to perform the surgeries.”

Gísli Pálsson, ICEIDA’s Country Director, talked about the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in his speech and said that the maternal houses were an important and an effective way to decrease infant and maternal death rates. The educational activities of the maternal houses also contribute to the women’s education which is the foundation of the families’ welfare. A considerably large crowd attended the ceremony, both residents of La Cruz as well as representatives from the health authorities and city councils.