Countries

Overview

Honduras, a Central American nation with low income and food deficit, is the third poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean. Recurring natural disasters – hurricane Mitch (1998), floods (2000, 2001, and 2005), droughts (2001 and 2004) and heavy rains (2008)– regularly affect the most vulnerable people.

One out of  four Honduran children under 5 years old falls  to chronic malnutrition. In some rural communities to the west of the country, chronic malnutrition can reach 48.5 percent.  The Goverment of Honduras has a National Strategy to reduce poverty, of which school feeding is a key element.

The AIDS pandemic is becoming a serious and growing threat for the country. It is estimated that 0.68 percent of the population lives with HIV/AIDS.

WFP Activities

In Honduras, WFP is working to connect farmers to markets through the Purchase for Progress initiative (P4P). Learn more

WFP operations in Honduras seek to improve the food security of most of the underprivileged rural population through activities to improve their health and nutrition. Operations in Honduras are divided into three main projects.

• School Meals Programme: This provides a daily meal to boys and girls attending schools, to stimulate an increase in school enrollment in preschools and schools in the areas of the country that are most at risk.
• Programme to Assist Vulnerable Groups (Nutritional Programme for Pregnant and Lactating Women and Children under five years old): It creates conditions wherein children under five, and pregnant and lactating women, can satisfy their special nutritional needs and their health needs relating to nutrition.
• Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation: The PRRO has the goal of improving food security for those families affected by recurring natural catastrophes through the provision of flexible and effective responses from both the government and the community.