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	USAID Information: USAID Country Page More Stories From Nicaragua FY 2009 Congressional Budget Justification Mission Web Site Selected Reports from the USAID Document Database External Links: U.S. State Department CIA World Factbook United Nations Development Programme (Spanish) World Bank Group
	Local Leaders: Democracy's Frontline [PDF 31K] Bird Watchers flocking to Guyana as a result of USAID Guyana's birding program [PDF, 512K] USAID's Strategy for Promoting Democracy and Building Markets in Latin America [PDF, 31 KB] Assessing the State of Democracy in the Hemisphere; Council of the Americas, Washington, D.C. [PDF, 33 KB]
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Nicaragua: USAID Program Profile

The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) assistance to Nicaragua focuses on strengthening democracy, increasing judicial transparency, promoting economic growth, and improving health and education. Working together with the Nicaraguan government, international and local non-governmental organizations, and other donors, USAID is strengthening the rule of law and citizen participation in public decision-making, increasing jobs and income, and helping families get better access to health services and basic education. An important food aid component promotes maternal child health activities and income-generation projects for the poor.

Democracy and Governance: To strengthen rule of law, USAID supports criminal justice reforms, prosecution of acts of corruption, increased government transparency, adherence to codes of ethics by both the government and private sector, and strengthening public oversight. The program also provides assistance for ensuring free and fair presidential elections in November 2006. USAID made significant contributions to the successful implementation of a new Criminal Procedures Code that helps give citizens access to a fair trial. Implementation of the code brings Nicaragua in line with progress in criminal justice reform throughout the region. One of the most important achievements under this program was the passage of an internationally acceptable Judicial Career Law. The law defines tenure for judges for the first time, and establishes ethical standards for judges, important steps in developing a non-partisan, transparent judicial branch of government. A new Criminal Code has received bipartisan support, and when passed into law will criminalize money laundering, trafficking in persons and other U.S. national interests in the law enforcement area, making Nicaragua a more stable and economically desirable location for business. USAID provides assistance to civil society oversight groups to support important legislation and inform the public on new laws and methods of accessing government legal services.

Trade and Agricultural Diversification: USAID focuses its assistance on achieving increased trade and investment and the development of a competitive, market-oriented economy with particular emphasis on market-led, rural economic diversification and trade capacity building.

During 2005, USAID helped Nicaraguan producers to increase their sales in local, regional, and international markets by $15.9 million. In this period, USAID-assisted enterprises created 24,082 full-time equivalent jobs in the agricultural sector and 9,258 temporary jobs through Food-for-Work activities. Technical support to the Nicaraguan government on economic policy contributed to the passage of the Law on Tax Equity. USAID also provided technical and legal assistance for the drafting of biotechnology legislation, and helped to harmonize customs procedures and phyto-sanitary security that are consistent with provisions in the DR-CAFTA. A key outcome of this assistance and training was a drastic reduction by more than 50% in the time needed to clear customs for agriculture products passing through the Nicaragua-Honduras border.

Health and Education: USAID assistance in approving the quality of health care led to a 32% decrease in the number of children dying from pneumonia over the last year in five major regional hospitals. Nearly all public health facilities provide family planning services, and USAID supplies 75% of contraceptives used in Nicaragua, thereby contributing significantly to the country's 69% contraceptive prevalence rate.

Through NicaSalud, a federation of local and international NGOs, USAID extends health activities at the community and household level to improve maternal and child health for 19,900 families. USAID is also supporting NicaSalud’s Solar Water Disinfection program technology to improve water quality in over 300 high-risk communities. Working with the Ministry of Health, USAID assistance is helping to improve service delivery in HIV/AIDS programs. USAID’s model school initiative and focus on quality primary education contributed to increased student access to education. School completion in USAID-supported model schools exceeds that of non-model schools by over 20%, and academic achievement increased 8% in Spanish and 12% in math since the program began in 1998. The success of USAID’s school program led to a decision by the Nicaraguan government last year to extend the model nationwide to all primary schools. A USAID-supported education alliance with the private sector leveraged $666,340 from private businesses in 2005, for a total of $6.2 million since February 2003 to improve the quality of education for primary school students.

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