Browse Honduras Daily Stories

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.

Honduran doctors launched informational assemblies and suspended outpatient visits and elective surgeries at the IHSS, alleging the government broke wage agreements.

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.

Social Security patients are spending L3,000–L6,000 monthly (about $120–$240) out of pocket for medications and supplies due to treatment delays, with chronic and cancer patients most severely affected by administrative backlogs and supply shortages.

Patients covered by Honduras's social security system are urging authorities to expand coverage and improve service quality, citing the near-impossibility of obtaining specialist appointments.

Honduras's social-security hospital faces a shortage of cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, oncologists, and other critical specialists, a problem compounded by fiscal restrictions that cap spending despite willingness to hire more doctors.

Three cardiologists have quit Honduras's public health institute (IHSS) citing low wages and lack of permanent appointments, leaving the system with only one cardiologist when officials say five to seven are needed in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula alone.

The president of the IHSS doctors' association says the social-security institute faces a severe crisis driven by government debt exceeding 30 billion lempiras (about $1.2 billion) and another 6 billion lempiras from other sectors, compounded by overcrowding, physician shortages, and no new buildings in over 30 years.

The president of the IHSS physicians' association reports that Honduras's main public hospital remains in severe decay despite a three-month emergency decree, with persistent shortages of surgeons, staff, medicines, and functioning laundry services.

A Liberal congressman introduced legislation to ensure workers applying for IHSS retirement benefits maintain medical coverage during the often-months-long processing period, arguing that some Hondurans risk death without treatment during the transition.

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.