Browse Honduras Daily Stories

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.

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.

Honduras has gone 17 consecutive years without a human rabies case transmitted by dogs and is working toward international certification of the achievement through ongoing dog vaccination campaigns, disease surveillance, and monitoring of wildlife reservoirs.

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.

Honduras's Health Ministry announced that most health facilities will remain open on September 15, with hospitals providing emergency services only, while primary-care centers and emergency clinics will operate normally during the independence-day holiday.

More than 400 interim-contract physicians in Honduras are owed up to nine months of salary; after Friday's failed talks with the Health Ministry yielded no payment date, doctors are continuing nationwide hospital assemblies that suspend scheduled patient care.

Honduras's social-security institute (IHSS) will operate only its emergency and hemodialysis units on September 15, Honduras's Independence Day, while all other services remain closed for the national holiday.

Honduras's child welfare agency (Senaf) reports 104 children are legally available for adoption, with 76 active cases underway, as the agency works to cut a two-year wait time and prioritize domestic families.

The Social Security Institute has launched a WhatsApp-based appointment system for 39 medical specialties at hospitals in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, allowing members to book without visiting clinics in person.

More than 260 people have died by suicide in Honduras in 2026, according to official SEPOL data, with experts warning that unemployment, economic despair, and social crisis are driving the alarming toll.

A pediatrician explains that 'culucos'—clumps of fine newborn hair mixed with breast milk on a baby's back—are a cultural myth unrelated to infant crying or colic, and warns that attempting to remove them manually or with irritating substances risks skin injury and infection.

Honduras has paid approximately L10 million (about $400,000) to private hospitals for 154 surgeries and procedures under an emergency health decree aimed at reducing public-hospital surgical backlogs, at an average cost of L63,783 per case, though lawmakers question whether prices are inflated.

Honduras has only 5,000 doctors but needs 23,000 in the public system, according to the Medical College of Honduras, with low pay, salary arrears, and poor working conditions driving emigration to Germany, Spain, England, and other countries.

An analyst from the justice-advocacy group ASJ warns that Honduras's public hospitals face persistent delays in acquiring medicines and reducing surgical backlogs, citing slow budget execution and administrative bottlenecks that risk patient frustration after months of waiting.

Honduras has recorded 5,064 dengue cases in 2026, including three deaths and 89 severe cases, with the capital accounting for nearly a quarter of infections and health officials warning adolescents face elevated risk of complications.

Experts debated on national TV whether the Honduran state and families share responsibility for child pregnancy, with one in five adolescents aged 15–19 reported pregnant over the past 15 years.

An integrated food-security analysis warns that acute food insecurity in Honduras could worsen to 1.8 million people (18% of the population analyzed) between April and July 2026, driven by erratic rains, high grain prices, and depleted household reserves.

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 declared a health emergency in February 2026 and launched a special program to reduce surgical waiting lists, with Hospital San Felipe reporting over 1,800 major surgeries completed in eight weeks, though medical and legislative sectors seek more detailed data on spending and nationwide impact.

The Health Ministry launched a temporary "zero dose" of measles vaccine for children aged 6–11 months in response to regional outbreaks and two imported cases in Honduras, with vaccination also now required for travelers to Guatemala, Mexico, the US, and Canada.

Honduras suspended construction of three public hospitals in Santa Bárbara, Salamá, and Ocotepeque in May following investigations into possible irregularities and cost overruns, while El Salvador inaugurated its Hospital Rosales after eight years of work.

Honduran experts warn that extreme temperatures above 42°C are spreading dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases into previously cool regions, driving a kidney-failure crisis in the south, and destroying crops that put 1.7 million people at risk of food insecurity.