World Medical Association urges Nicaragua to restore its national medical association and stop silencing physicians
Geneva, 15 October 2026
The World Medical Association (WMA) has condemned the Nicaraguan government’s interference with the work of the country’s doctors. Its General Assembly in Rotterdam adopted a revised Resolution on the Repression of Nicaraguan Doctors, which says the crisis threatens both doctors and the people they treat.
National and international reports cited in the resolution say more than 400 doctors have been dismissed or forced to resign in Nicaragua since 2018. More than 200 have been forced into exile. The reports also describe obstacles to medical training, limits on the free practice of medicine, and a critical shortage of health workers. The WMA warns that these actions have put the lives of both patients and health staff at risk.
The resolution states that professional independence, clinical autonomy, freedom of scientific expression and doctors’ ethical duty to defend their patients’ health are fundamental principles of medicine that cannot be taken away. It condemns any government interference with doctors’ freedom to practise and to speak, and expresses solidarity with Nicaraguan doctors affected by the situation.
The WMA urges the Nicaraguan government and members of parliament to protect all health professionals and to re-establish the Nicaraguan Medical Association, so that the profession has an independent voice that upholds ethical practice and high standards of care. It calls on the authorities to guarantee doctors’ right to practise without discrimination, intimidation or undue interference, and to share accurate information about the country’s health situation. It also asks them to review and repeal laws used to silence, intimidate or criminalise health professionals acting in line with their ethical duty, including the Cybercrime Act where it is used to restrict scientific or professional freedom of expression.
Dr Jung Yul Park, WMA President, said: “When physicians are dismissed, exiled or threatened simply for doing their jobs, patients pay the price. Nicaraguan doctors must be free to care for their patients and to speak the truth about their country’s health. The global medical community stands with them.”
ENDS