Honduras

The HRP 2021-2022 was planned to be developed in 18 months. The Nutrition WG Honduras is monitoring the emergency response using the OCHA 345W platform. Our main tool for visualizing emergency activities is the HRP 2021-2022 dashboard which monitors both, HRP and non-HRP activities. Our main findings:

- More than 50,000 people were reached in 53 municipalities. Among them, more than 30,000 children under 5 years old and 5,900 PLW. More than 200 health workers were trained on topics related to nutrition in emergencies. 5 organizations reported activities from 4 donors.

- The FTS (Financial tracking service) platform reported some funding for the Nutrition sector in Honduras, but we have clarified with the partners that none of the funds reported in the FTS - HRP 2021, 2022 platform are for the projects proposed on the plan. Thus, the funding for the last HRP is null.

- The financing obtained by the organizations was through their own funds.

According to data from ENDESA/MICS 2019 (released in the year 2022), all departments of the country still have a combination of global acute and chronic malnutrition plus micronutrient deficiencies among children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women. Also, inadequate infant and young child feeding practices bring the number of people in need of support to a worrying level. This situation has worsened with multiple emergencies such as the COVID-19 crisis and the tropical storms ETA & IOTA in 2020, which hit departments that were the most affected by acute malnutrition. Other factors such as drought, flooding plus the ongoing migration crisis affect different parts of the country, not to mention the increasing violence. All of this has made an impact on the children and communities. There is no doubt about the severity of the situation and the need to implement emergency nutrition programs.

In structural terms, the 2020 maternal and child health evaluation conducted by the Cortés Health Region shows that the performance indicators of the AIN-C strategy have been in steady decline since 2014 (start date), reaching their lowest level after the tropical storms. In addition, the SESAL/MoH does not currently have a protocol for managing cases of acute malnutrition in children under 5 years of age.

Following the same line as the HRP 2021&2022, the HRP 2023 has the following objectives:

Sectoral objectives:

1. Ensure the surveillance, early detection, referral, and treatment of global acute malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies among children under 5 years of age, and pregnant and lactating women.
2. Lead actions in the prevention of nutritional deterioration of children under 5 years and pregnant and lactating women in an environment conducive to good development.
3. Strengthen the coordination and articulation of the Nutrition sector, ensuring the integration of sensitive and specific nutrition activities in key humanitarian sectors, allowing a timely response to emergencies.

Sectoral response:

The main objective of the Nutrition Working Group Honduras is to reduce morbidity and mortality due to acute malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in children under 5 years old and pregnant and lactating women (PLWs).

The current HRP is based on the findings of the HNO 2023. OCHA led the HRP 2023 process and will be released in February 2023.

Finally, the Nutrition WG has 8 partners and 10 projects for the current HRP 2023.

Links:

HRP 2023 Honduras summary

HNO 2023 Honduras

- The need to give visibility to the Nutrition situation in Honduras, which has worsened due to multiple crises.

-The need to collect nutrition data and have funds for this important purpose.

- The Nutrition WG is embedded in the Food Security Cluster, which can sometimes lead to invisibilizing Nutrition sector needs.

- The need to institutionalize protocols for the Management of Acute Malnutrition for example.

- The need to develop more expertise in the country around Nutrition in Emergencies.

- In 2021 and 2022, the Nutrition Sector did not receive any funds through the HRP.

The coordinator of the Honduras Nutrition WG has taken tutorials carried out by the GNC to strengthen coordination issues and topics such as infant nutrition, and information collection tools such as the GNC tool, especially for the HNO process. In addition, we collaborated closely with the GNC for the calculation of the Nutrition PIN in Honduras. Also, an advisor provided support on children's nutrition in emergencies, updating terms of reference, and capacity building for the partners.

The project is still ongoing but results are thought to be released soon. The survey will provide information to fill the data gap on nutrition and health issues, prevalent childhood morbidities, and Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices (ALNP), with a special focus on gender equality, to assess the impact of cumulative negative conditions on the most vulnerable households in urban and rural contexts, linked to other studies to provide data on the dynamics and their positive or negative affectation on food security and nutrition. Additionally, the objective is that the data allows the development of a national contingency plan and the reduction of gender equality gaps.