Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America, where
WFP has worked with governments for 40 years to reduce hunger
and undernutrition. Nicaragua is also the fourth country most
affected by natural disasters between 1990 and 2010. When
disasters occur, and hunger and epidemics constantly strike the
population, women, children, the elderly and the ill are the
most vulnerable. Because Nicaragua has shores on both the
Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, it is vulnerable to hurricanes. In
fact there is a risk of natural disaster every year during the
hurricane season. Nicaraguan women are an essential part of
mitigation efforts and the response to natural disasters. In
food assistance programmes, women receive the food directly to
guarantee their families nutrition. Drought is the most
recurrent phenomenon in the north and west of the country. In
the “dry corridor” drinkable water is scarce, limiting the
farming on family and community orchards. The lack or
irregularity of rain affects subsistence farmers. Thr