Drug Shortage

Though the government distributed $6 million in medicines across six departments as part of an emergency decree, doctors and patients report that shortages of staff, surgical supplies, fentanilo, and operating-room repairs continue to undermine public hospital care and lengthen surgical waiting lists nationwide.

The president of the Medical College says public hospitals are canceling operations due to shortages of sterile surgical supplies, sutures, and lab reagents—a broader crisis beyond the fentanyl shortage—while questioning the government's accounting of emergency surgeries performed in private centers.

A civil-society organization is calling for proceeds from the presidential aircraft's sale—over L137 million (about $5.5 million)—to be spent on medicines and hospital improvements to ease shortages in the public health system.

Honduras's Medical College president says public hospitals face critical shortages of fentanyl, medications, laboratory supplies, and surgical materials that have forced suspension of surgeries and left patients paying out of pocket for necessary materials.

Relatives of patients at Honduras's main public hospital report they must purchase medications, surgical supplies, and materials like sutures and casts to complete treatments and operations, straining families already struggling with medical costs.

Four months after Congress approved a health emergency and a trust fund managed by Banco de Occidente, the government transferred L500 million (about $20 million) but has made no drug purchases and completed only 155 surgeries, while hospitals remain 75–78% stocked on basic medicines.

COCINH-LAB Honduras announced it is ending operations after the Asfura administration declined to continue the project — a priority under the Castro government — with COCINH-LAB saying public statements by officials indicate that domestic drug production is not a current priority and that resources must be directed toward other areas.

A planned scientific and industrial complex in Quimistán, Santa Bárbara, designed to produce medicines, medical devices, and genetic diagnostics for Honduras's public health system, faces discontinuation after the current government signaled it is not a priority, despite L284 million (about $11.4 million) already spent on preliminary work.

Five months into President Asfura's administration, relations between the government and the Medical Association of Honduras have deteriorated over disputes about hospital care, medication theft accusations, and payment protests, with analysts warning of a deepening health-system crisis affecting patients.

Honduras's Medical Association rejected claims by Vice President–designate María Antonieta Mejía linking doctors to corruption and medicine shortages in public hospitals, demanding she provide evidence within 72 hours or issue a public apology.

Cancer patients at the Honduran Social Security Institute report a three-month shortage of carboplatin, an essential chemotherapy drug, forcing them to buy vials costing over L3,000 (about $120) out of pocket or forgo complete treatment.

Patients returned to hospitals and clinics after physicians and the government reached a deal ending ten days of labor protests, though appointment backlogs, medicine shortages, and long wait times persist.

Health Ministry data show 3,271 colon cancer cases were recorded in Honduras between 2015 and 2025, with 2025 marking the highest single-year total at 446 cases, as patients also face chronic shortages of drugs and supplies in public hospitals.

With 63 snake-bite cases reported so far in 2026, Honduras is struggling to stock antivenin serum in hospitals nationwide, a shortage that officials attribute to supplier problems and lack of government prioritization despite deaths from delayed treatment.