Honduras Health News

Honduras recorded 1,471 breast cancer diagnoses in 2025 and the first half of 2026, with Francisco Morazán department reporting the highest numbers; health officials emphasize that early detection and prompt treatment can save lives.

Finance Minister Emilio Hércules says budget is available to pay doctors but administrative procedures at state agencies must be completed first to comply with legal requirements.

The Ministry of Health is operating mobile medical clinics (UMACs) in Tela, San Carlos, Salamá, and Liure from October 19–23 to bring healthcare services closer to rural and urban communities.

The president of Honduras's Medical College, Samuel Santos, has asked the Constitutional Court to rule on a legal challenge to a decree and to stop the firing of physicians.

Neurologist Marco Tulio Medina warns that genetic mutations and toxic stress can trigger Alzheimer's in Hondurans as early as age 40, citing a Copán family with a presenilin-1 gene variant.

Ian Fernando Caballero, a 6-year-old Honduran with a congenital heart defect, will undergo open-heart surgery at a San Salvador hospital after his family appealed to El Salvador's government for help; the family is seeking funds for transport and living expenses.

Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez called on striking physicians to halt over 40 days of work stoppages that have suspended routine medical care, arguing that patient health must take priority over salary disputes and that the action violates Christian ethics.

Honduras's Colegio Médico continues work stoppages into a 41-day labor dispute, maintaining 15 demands including wage adjustments, contract signings, and rehiring of dismissed physicians, while public-hospital outpatient services remain suspended and patient backlogs grow.

Hospital Mario Rivas in San Pedro Sula is offering free mammograms to women over 40 from October 12 through November 13 to promote early breast-cancer detection.

Health authorities are intensifying prevention efforts in Cortés after more than 600 dengue cases were reported in a single week, urging residents to eliminate mosquito breeding sites and seek immediate medical care for warning signs.

The IHSS Regional Hospital in San Pedro Sula received specialized medical supplies and equipment from Gift of Life International for a pediatric open-heart surgery brigade scheduled for October 19–24, benefiting both insured and uninsured children.

An anti-corruption group filed a complaint asking Honduras's audit tribunal to investigate whether doctors were paid during the ongoing health-sector strike and whether they met their work obligations, as the walkout nears 40 days and disrupts patient care.

The government began three-month renovations of Fundación Abrigo facilities in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula that provide free lodging to patients and families from rural areas seeking treatment at public hospitals, and donated wheelchairs, crutches, and equipment to support the centers.

The Honduran Hemophilia Society has asked the government to add innovative treatments like emicizumab to the essential-medicines list, saying they would reduce bleeding complications for the country's 371 registered patients with hemophilia and related clotting disorders.

Honduras's agricultural health agency has intensified efforts against the screwworm parasite by training 49,000 farmers and inspecting over 950,000 animals, as the pest has caused nearly 8,000 cases and three deaths since 2024.

A 10-year-old girl was admitted to Hospital Mario Catarino Rivas after suffering multiple bites to both legs from a pitbull while trespassing on private property; surgeons saved her legs but she will have severe scarring, and doctors are monitoring her for possible rabies.

About 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) of waste accumulated at Honduras's main teaching hospital after a contractor's garbage truck broke down, prompting kitchen staff to threaten a strike over unsanitary conditions near the food-prep area.

Honduras's Special Human Rights Prosecutor has admitted a complaint filed by patient Santos Fúnez against the Medical Association, and will investigate whether the association's informational assemblies violated the constitutional right to health care and complied with Honduran law.

The Health Ministry urged physicians to return to work immediately, stating that 97% of doctors are current on salary payments amid an ongoing labor dispute.

Honduras has not created a comprehensive support plan for people with autism spectrum disorder mandated by presidential decree in 2019, with successive administrations using the autistic community rhetorically while avoiding substantive commitment.

A 4-year-old girl who died at a San Pedro Sula bus terminal had Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive cancer; forensic medicine confirmed death resulted from organ failure caused by the disease.

Honduras's hemophilia patients' organization called on the government to establish a robust program for the estimated 371 Hondurans with the genetic bleeding disorder, citing critical shortages of coagulation-factor medicines and urging access to modern therapies like emicizumab.

The Roatán Hospital will complete lead-lining work on its X-ray room on Sunday and begin radiological safety tests on Monday, after acquiring an eight-million-lempira Siemens digital X-ray system that officials say will allow islanders to access imaging locally instead of at private clinics.

Honduras's national human-rights ombudsman (Conadeh) has recorded approximately 300 complaints of violations in public health services, citing medication shortages, medical negligence, mistreatment by hospital staff, and lack of diagnostic test supplies.

Honduras has recorded 315 cases of human screwworm infection (myiasis) in 2026, exceeding all of 2025, with three deaths among people over 70; health authorities urge preventive measures including keeping wounds covered and avoiding outdoor sleep near livestock areas.

A girl from La Mosquitia, Gracias a Dios, died in her mother's arms at a bus terminal in San Pedro Sula after 16 days in hospital for cancer; her mother said the child was discharged while still feverish and later vomited blood.

A $29 million project will add six advanced operating rooms to Honduras's main public hospital, aiming to reduce the surgical backlog and cut wait times for patients needing complex procedures.

Hospital Escuela has alerted parents to kwashiorkor, a severe protein-deficiency malnutrition affecting Honduran children under five, which can cause abdominal swelling, hair changes, and weakened immunity; the facility reports treating up to three cases monthly.

Honduras's Health Ministry found nearly 700 ghost payroll positions — including doctors who received full salaries while studying abroad for years — amid a staffing crisis that has suspended more than 4,000 elective surgeries.

With Honduras's medical system disrupted for 39 days by doctor work actions over unpaid salaries, Deputy Labor Minister Daniel Discua warned the government may pursue legal measures and set Friday as a deadline to resolve pending payments, claiming about 90% of medical staff payroll is current.