Nicaraguan Red Cross requirement: 575,000 CHF
IFRC Secretariat funding requirement: 18 million CHF
Federation-wide funding requirement: 28 million CHF
DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The number of Nicaraguans intercepted at the U.S. border increased from 3,164 in September 2020 to an unprecedented 92,037 by April 2022. For March 2022, the figure reached 16,088, the highest recorded to date for a single month.” Which is an indicator of migration behaviour in the country.
Nicaragua has been contending with events that have altered its social, family and individual dynamics. Since 2018, the country has suffered drops in economic activity due to the internal crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of hurricanes Eta and Iota and migration that has been exacerbated by the lack of employment and low wages.
A decline in employment and wages caused a reduction in household income for 44 per cent of households nationwide in mid-2021.
These events had multiple impacts on the Nicaraguan population. From interviews with patients of the Nicaraguan Red Cross National Psychosocial Support and Health Centre (CAPS by its Spanish acronym), it became clear that the abandonment of property, family separation and loss of income had major emotional and psychological effects on the population and families had greater difficulty meeting their basic needs. Mental health is a priority need in times of crisis and according to the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) and WHO, in 2018 in the Latin America region mental disorders were a major cause of disability and mortality.
Severity of humanitarian conditions
High unemployment, inflation of 7.2 per cent in 2021, and wages standing at about USD 182 per month all translate into low purchasing power for Nicaraguans now, and there is scant access to the basic food basket, for example, estimated by the Nicaraguan National Institute of Development Information (INIDE) to be about USD 467 for March 2022. The UNICEF State of the World's Children Report 2021, dedicated to mental health, also highlights the link between mental and physical health and the welfare of children, adolescents and young people, and calls for the promotion and protection of mental health, as recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Family separation is impacting children, who suffer feelings of abandonment, anxiety and depression. COVID-19 also continues to affect families, which have had to face the loss of a loved one in the case of death, in some cases the breadwinner of the family. Gender-based violence (GBV) is another factor adding to these crises, affecting the most vulnerable groups, children, adolescents and women victims of violence. In Nicaragua in 2021 there were 15 victims of femicide and so far in 2022 there have been 22.