Nicaragua's Sugarcane Workers and CKDnT
Photojournalism Story Photography - Complete
2015
Ed Kashi Photography, LLC
t: 1-973-746-9096
e: office@edkashi.com
w: edkashi.com
Ed Kashi
In Nicaragua, the average life span of men who harvest sugarcane is 49 years. At the root of these early deaths is an epidemic of fatal Chronic Kidney Disease of nontraditional causes (CKDnT). In the town of Chichigalpa, often called the “Island of Widows,” 1-in-3 men, mostly cane workers, are in end-stage renal failure. This fatal disease is not only a public health crisis but also a social injustice.