During COVID, many countries changed their practices and policies to medical care. Nicaragua made a number of significant changes to their governance, including medical care. VOSH Southeast had taken a hiatus in vision clinics in Nicaragua for a number of years due to new governmental regulations and expectations that can not be met. In 2022, Nicaragua canceled over 1,000 NGO’s which includes organizations providing medical care. Later in the year, they put more strict language around these restrictions and Nicaragua no longer allows any foreign entity to provide medical services.
This has been detrimental to the people of Nicaragua who must rely solely on the government for care if they can not afford private medical care. VOSH Southeast has discussed this new mandate with other VOSH chapters, in-country NGOs and in-country medical providers. All are in agreement that this change is intended to be permanent and it may be many years before this policy is changed. Unfortunately, this means VOSH Southeast will not be able to host vision clinics or surgeries in Nicaragua for the forseeable future. We will update our volunteers if policies change.