While Hondurans continue to battle the pandemic and await the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, Employment and Economic Development Zones (ZEDEs) are being built in Roatán and Choloma, with La Ceiba coming soon as well.
On May 5, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, now controlled by President Nayib Bukele’s New Ideas political party, approved a law that removes almost all controls over pandemic-related government procurements.
Honduras currently has one of the worst vaccination rates in the world, with only 0.56% of its population vaccinated.
While the Honduran government has publicly stated that it has issued a contract to purchase the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, the Ministry of Public Health
A private plane carrying Sputnik-V vaccine doses later determined to be fake was apprehended in Mexico this week. The plane was headed for Honduras and most of its crew are employed by Grupo Karims, owned by Mohamad Yusuf Amdani, one of the richest people in Honduras. Local media reports in Mexico indicate that the crew has been released, but little is known about why they were transporting the fake vaccines.
In-person classes were suspended in March 2020 when the pandemic hit Honduras. One year later, the pandemic is still out of control and the country is preparing to start a new school year in very unstable circumstances.
Almost a year after the country declared a national state of emergency due to the pandemic and in the midst of a new surge in COVID-19 cases, only two of the seven mobile hospitals procured by the government are up and running, and these are only operating at a reduced capacity.
Six months after Contracorriente submitted a formal information request to the Institute for Public Information Access (Instituto de Acceso a la Información Pública – IAIP), the Ministry of Public Health released information confirming that President Juan Orlando Hernandez tested negative for COVID-19 the day before he made a public appearance where he stated that he and his wife had tested positive for the virus.
The pandemic and two hurricanes this year added to the heavy burden that Honduran nurses already bear. Together, they have learned to cope and confront the virus, the floods and long-standing evils: the plundering of the health system, unequal working conditions, violence, and machismo.
“What’s important is that you are okay and that your family is okay. Possessions can be recovered.” I have read and listened to these phrases aimed at people who still were paying for their houses, their appliances, or their cars. Possessions can be recovered? Really? Honduras is a country with a high unemployment rate.
The Ministry of Health failed to release a copy of the test results in which Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández allegedly tested positive for COVID-19 after Contracorriente requested it, based on a Institute of Access to Public Information (IAIP) requirement. Now, the commissioner’s board of the IAIP has issued a legal resolution for the handing over of the information. If not complied with, the case will be brought before the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR).
By Jennifer Avila/ Contracorriente Illustration by Paola Nirta from a photograph of Juan López / Agenda Propia Photos by Martín Cálix and Fernando Silva /
Photography by Martín Cálix and Deiby Yánes Translation: John Turnure Extreme poverty has always forced people to beg. This has been the story for years,
In Honduras, the COVID-19 pandemic has met the world of fraud. A government purchase of mobile hospitals that may not exist, added to other irregularities
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