Honduras Health News

The government is examining the purchase of an already-built hospital to add to the public health network and relieve overcrowding at Hospital Escuela, Honduras's main medical center.

Health authorities told a PAHO governing council in Washington that Honduras has strengthened 256 clinics with AI-assisted video colposcopy and "See and Treat" training to improve timely care for women.

Hospital Escuela's blood bank will accept donations October 5–9, remaining open through the Morazán Week holiday period.

Honduras's physicians are holding nationwide assemblies despite government announcements of progress on back pay, citing database errors and unclear employment categories that complicate salary resolution.

A deputy has introduced a bill to allocate 6.7 million lempiras (about $270,000) to upgrade infrastructure at Tegucigalpa's Hospital San Felipe, including soundproof windows, electrical system modernization, and air-conditioning improvements.

The Medical College of Honduras and the Health Ministry ended talks without resolving a dispute over unpaid physician salaries, though the ministry says it has paid 95% of what is owed and the parties will meet again Friday to reconcile payment records.

Honduras has recovered its status as a country free of avian influenza after three months of coordinated work with the poultry sector, the National Agricultural Health Service announced.

Health authorities warn that vaccination coverage among pregnant women in Honduras remains below 50%, leaving newborns vulnerable to pertussis, tetanus, and influenza during their first months of life.

Physician assemblies at Honduras's public-health institute have suspended outpatient consultations and elective surgeries for nearly a month, costing over L400 million (about $16 million), while doctors press demands for wage adjustments and contract improvements.

Congress approved a measure making March the national month for cervical cancer prevention, directing the Health Ministry to strengthen prevention campaigns and ensure public health facilities have supplies for early detection screening.

Honduras's month-long physician labor action, now in its fourth week of assembly-led protests, has left non-emergency patients waiting weeks for rescheduled appointments, while doctors demand salary arrears, contract renewals, wage adjustments tied to inflation, and increased health-sector funding.

A 10-year-old girl from Ocotepeque, Honduras, underwent open-heart surgery at San Salvador's Benjamín Bloom Hospital in July after her mother found no surgical option in Honduras, with a second operation still needed.

Hospital Escuela advanced nearly 2,000 outpatient appointments scheduled for October 7–9 to September 30 and October 1–2 to accommodate the rescheduled Morazán Day holiday, though five specialties will maintain their original dates.

Mente Sana, La Prensa's mental-health initiative, held sessions with about 500 parents at two San Pedro Sula schools to discuss the effects of excessive screen and social-media use on children and adolescents, marking the program's first parent-focused outreach since its 2024 launch.

The Health Ministry is training 140 health workers in infection prevention and control to strengthen patient safety, combat antimicrobial resistance, and prepare hospitals for health emergencies, with the first cohort starting late October.

A viral TikTok video shows families of patients at Honduras's main public hospital, the Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa, sleeping on cardboard and floors while waiting for news of loved ones, highlighting the lack of basic accommodations and resources for companions from distant municipalities.

An 11-year-old girl in San Pedro Sula's Lomas del San Juan neighborhood suffered severe injuries, including the loss of her ear, when attacked by a pitbull on her way home from school; her mother is seeking medical support and removal of the animal from the area.

A US humanitarian adviser visited El Triunfo, Choluteca, to review food, water, sanitation, and health programs financed by the Regional Humanitarian Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean to aid Honduran communities affected by El Niño.

Recent downpours caused a roof leak and ceiling collapse in the emergency department of Hospital Escuela, Honduras's main public referral hospital, highlighting chronic infrastructure problems that staff say require comprehensive renovation, not temporary repairs.

Honduras's armed forces will provide free medical, dental, and medication services at community clinics in Tegucigalpa, Copán, and Puerto Lempira on September 26 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Pediatricians in public hospitals are treating children under five with marasmus and kwashiorkor, severe acute malnutrition conditions not seen at these levels in decades, a direct result of four months of extreme drought triggered by the 'super El Niño' phenomenon.

The Health Ministry distributed 20 portable colposcopy and thermocoagulation units across Honduras's 20 health regions to improve early detection and treatment of cervical cancer.

A medical brigade held Friday in the Oakridge community of Roatán at Marco Aurelio Soto School treated approximately 4,000 patients.

Dr. Mario Javier García Martínez, former director of Forensic Medicine and a specialist in legal and forensic medicine who taught at the National Autonomous University of Honduras, died of a heart attack.

A work stoppage by the Honduran Medical Association has canceled roughly 30,000 outpatient consultations at public hospitals in recent weeks, with physicians continuing assemblies on September 25 to press demands over salaries, contracts, and working conditions.

San Pedro Sula will hold a Color Run on September 27 benefiting Hospital Leonardo Martínez, with three distance options (3K, 5K, 10K) starting at 5:30 a.m.; registration costs 600 lempiras (about $24) and includes a kit with hydration drink, snacks, and gear.

Surgeons at Hospital Santa Teresa in Comayagua used flashlights from their mobile phones to perform operations after a power outage and failure of the emergency generator, prompting medical staff to demand urgent action from authorities over conditions they say endanger patients.

Honduras's Medical College has prolonged nationwide informational assemblies in the public health system, pressing for resolution of unjustified layoffs, back pay for over 1,300 health workers owed up to eight months of salary, and broader healthcare instability.

A three-week work stoppage by the Medical College of Honduras has left patients with cancer, kidney disease, diabetes, and hypertension unable to access scheduled appointments, procedures, and treatments, forcing many to pay out of pocket for private consultations that can exceed L3,000 (about $120).

Hospital San Felipe is opening a second shift to double its chemotherapy capacity to 4,000 treatments per month and reduce a backlog of at least 400 cancer patients awaiting care.