Honduras: Key challenges

Members of the COMUCAP co-operative making orange wine [Marcella Haddad]

Almost 70% of the rural population live in extreme poverty and many small-scale farmers do not have ownership of their land

Fairer land distribution and more secure legal tenure would greatly improve livelihoods.

Coffee is the main export, with 15,000 coffee farmers in the country, but since 1997 the price of coffee on the world market has halved.

Up to 85% of coffee farmers are small producers who need all the income from selling their crop for food and healthcare. Therefore, any small drop in the price of coffee affect these farmers disproportionately.

A large amount of Honduras' debts have been cancelled but, since the relief package only includes a part of the country’s debts, it still has to spend money on servicing other debts, leaving less money to fight poverty.

Mining and natural resources

Modern techniques and an increase in the price of gold means it is possible to make profits from mining low quality ore, and many large transnationals companies now have operations in Honduras.

But low quality ore requires environmentally-damaging methods of extraction, the use of cyanide which contaminates the land, and large amounts of water needed by surrounding communities for agriculture.

However, national legislation makes it very difficult for local communities to object or influence future mining operations.

HIV and AIDS

Almost 60% of AIDS cases in the whole region are in Honduras, with the World Health Organisation estimating that up to 110,000 adults and children were infected by the end of 2003.

Among women of childbearing age, HIV and AIDS is the principal cause of death. A major challenge is the shortage of health workers trained to deal with the disease.

Disasters

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch struck, devastating much of the country's infrastructure, killing 8,000 people, and destroying 70% of crops. Severe droughts hit in 2001 and 2002, affecting the recovery from Mitch.

In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina, Stan, Wilma, Beta and Gamma all damaged houses and destroyed infrastructure and crops on the coasts.