Santa Rosa Maternal Infant Center: Children's Cafeteria

The Maternal Infant Center (CMI) is located in the municipality of Santa Rosa del Peñon and houses the Children's Cafeteria. Both entities work to alleviate the problems that result from malnutrition and health problems for women and children in the area. Although these are serious issues for all of Nicaragua, the situation is particularly critical in the Northern area where Santa Rosa is located.

Currently, the institution is managed entirely by volunteers in the community and is headed up by a community board that oversees the work of the parents, midwives, and community volunteers. The Maternal Infant Center works closely with the local Health Center to determine which cases the MCI will accept as referrals from the Health Center. Health Center staff also coordinates with the volunteers at the MCI to provide follow-up to the patients who stay there.

The Health Center itself cannot accommodate patients who need inpatient care, therefore the CMI provides mothers and women patients the option of staying overnight when necessary rather than having to make the long, up to 8-hour walks back to their communities. Maternal and infant health has been prioritized by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health and the agencies that support it, such as the United Nations and the World Bank.