Hurricanes in Honduras

On November 3rd 2020, hurricane ETA ripped through Central America, with

winds of up to 150 miles per hour, heavy rains, flooding, and landslides. It was

approximately 4 in the afternoon when ETA first made landfall on the east coast of

Honduras and then proceeded to bury homes along the coast and inland. Only two weeks

later Honduras was battered by another hurricane, LOTA. The disastrous hurricanes

affected over 4 million people across the nation and left more than 94 people dead and

thousands injured. Most of the people who were affected are part of the vulnerable

communities who were already struggling to get by each day as the COVID-19 pandemic

was taking a toll on their health and financial stability. People who were severely injured

by the hurricanes and in critical condition were unable to seek medical services due to the

immediate closing of health facilities as a result of the damage from the hurricanes.

People throughout Central America were and continue to struggle to survive. Honduras

is faced with a critical public health and humanitarian crisis that most of the world is

unaware of. This podcast is meant to bring attention to the current situation in Central

America, with a focus on Honduras my native land.

When hurricane ETA and LOTA hit el departamento de Cortes, the country went into a

state of emergency, everything was closed. There were many people undergoing

suffering, thousands of citizens lost their homes and lives. Yesenia who is 67 years old

speaks on the situation of her younger sister, who is 63 and the hardships her nephew and

her dealt with when their house became inundated by the rising waters from the heavy

rains of hurricane ETA

F9 [00:00:41] Mi familia si fue bastante afectada porque eh eh donde ellos viven se

inundo y perdieron todo, entonces salieron bastante afectados ellos, y han quedado pues

afectados porque psicológicamente han quedado ellos afectados.

Yesenia [00:03:10] la preocupación que tuvimos cuando ellos estuvieron, cuando estuvo

pues, estuvieron ellos en el cerro y el otro el otro sipote de Rosa estuvo en el techo de la

casa pero solo fue que vivimos la preocupacion.

Yesenia : [00:03:09] Cuando yo me comunique con ellos la primera vez ellos estaban en

el cerro y el otro muchacho estaba en el techo de la casa. La preocupación de nosotros era

que no podían rescatarlos, si no que estuvieron dos días dos noches sin comer y sin tomar

agua. Yo me preocupaba porque se podía debilitar el muchacho y se iba a caer al agua.

Yesenia : [00:04:01] A la hora que estaba comenzando las llenas yo le llame a mi

hermana y ella fue la que me contesto que están inundando, que se había inundando y que

la inundación los había rodeado.

Yesenia’s younger sister, Rosa, and her son were stranded on the rooftop of what used to

be their home for 2 days and two nights without food or water. After many phone calls

of extreme worry and pressure from Yesenia, rescue workers helped them to safety.

They lost everything that they owned. They had to leave everything behind and move in

with Yesenia. Yesenia says that her sister and nephew have not been the same ever since.

They suffered extreme psychological and physical trauma without access to any

healthcare services or any type of aid from the government.

This is just one of many extreme hardships that millions of people throughout Central

America have been experiencing through the pandemic and recent natural disasters.

According to Johns Hopkins University’s Global Health Security Index, Honduras

has one of the weakest healthcare systems in the world. In 2018 The World Bank

reported that the country only spends 7.05% of its gross domestic product on healthcare

and it operates through a private and public system. The private system is used by 10% of

the population, the economic elite, who are privately insured. The public system, The

Ministry of Health and the Social Security Institute, is open to all who have the ability to

pay and/or have medical insurance through their employer. Approximately 18% of the

population are able to utilize the public health care system. That means around 72% of

the population is left on their own to find access to medical services.

Senior citizens in Honduras are not being offered any assistance and many do not

have the help from relatives or outside sources to help with their basic needs to survive.

When the pandemic first started the government began to place restrictions on who could

leave their houses and when. People over the age of 60 were prohibited from leaving their

house and so Yesenia had to rely on her only daughter left in Honduras, who works full

time, to go and pick up her medicine and all other necessities when she was off work.

Yesenia has a history of chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, arthritis and

hyperthyroidism. Given her age and her health condition it is impossible to find

employment, so she relies on the money that her children who migrated to the United

States send her to survive. For her, access to medical services and treatment has always

been a challenge, and the pandemic has only made this even more difficult. The only

option that she has for treatment is to go to a private clinic, which is extremely expensive.

F44 [00:10:39] Si me a hecho difícil porque.. porque ya para ir al médico así por una

enfermedad, el médico lo atiende.

F4 [00:10:45] Lo único que también son son en clínicas privadas. Ya en las clínicas del

Estado no mas del estado.

F6 [00:10:58] Ya no, porque como están todas ocupadas por lo de la pandemia, no

alcanza solamente de médico privado.

F10 [00:11:26] La mayoría de personas tienen dificultad, porque tal vez no hay ayuda de

alguien más. Y no, no tiene el dinero suficiente para que los atienda un médico en una

clínica privada.

F13 [00:11:41] Hay bastantes

The mismanagement of healthcare in Honduras has a history of political

corruption that has long looted the country’s most vulnerable, which is the majority of the

population. The manipulation of public funds can be traced to embezzlement, drug

trafficking, and schemes to buy overpriced medicine and equipment. Health care, a

human right, which should be a system designed by the government to take care of its

people has become a method of exploitation in Honduras.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it further weakened the state of the health care

system, making it impossible for people to access medical services due to a shortage in

personnel. As reported by the CDC, in 2020 there is approximately one doctor for every

3,000 people. In addition to the lack of personnel provided, there was also a lack of

adequate protective equipment. Healthcare workers failed to receive items such as glove s

and masks that could have protected them from contracting the virus. This led to extreme

contamination and spread of the Covid-19 virus. This was the ongoing situation that the

people of Honduras underwent before the pandemic even hit. This situation worsened

throughout the pandemic and then the two hurricanes hit, destroying what little of a

healthcare system previously existed.

Today, most health facilities have been closed due to damage and injuries among

health personnel. Nine out of 18 departments (states) in Honduras have been affected by

hurricane ETA and LOTA. 61,000 people were left homeless. Due to the hurricanes and

the pandemic 95,000 are now staying in overcrowded shelters or are living on the streets.

What little access people may have had to healthcare has now become obsolete as people

are struggling just to survive. They are not only at a high risk of contracting the Covid-

19 virus, they are also in extreme danger of contracting and spreading other infectious

diseases such as cholera, dengue fever, and others. The impact of this situation will be

felt for generations to come due to governmental powers failing to address the needs of

its people.

Waiting for governmental powers to help is long overdue and no longer viable.

Solidarity and mutual aid is the only way that Central America will get through and

recover from this humanitarian crisis. That is why it is important to not only continue to

raise awareness among the people who live in larger and wealthier countries but to also

support mutual-aid organizations who are working directly with those affected to provide

food, shelter and transition relief. The Honduran Solidarity Network, Operacion ETA,

Abrassos and Operacion Frijol are some of many relief funds and organizations that are

doing grassroot work with the pueblo in Honduras. Many of these coalitions have been

started by college students with the desire of making a difference in their cou ntry.

Despite these devastating natural disasters the embracement between people has

inspired hope to those who need it. Standing in support is the only way we can help

Central America recover from this public health and humanitarian crisis.