Nicaragua is much in the news these days because of political turmoil in Central America. Charges and countercharges abound on military and political matters, but little has been reported on developments in health and medicine in Nicaragua. One of us (D.C.H.) spent several weeks in the spring of 1981 in the capital city of Managua and in more remote parts of the country. The other (R.G.) made two visits to Nicaragua in 1980 and worked in the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health as a health-services administrator during the last nine months of 1981. In this report we describe the efforts and . . .