Honduras Información en Español Background In Honduras, Save the Children Honduras has been working to create positive changes in the lives of girls and boys in rural communities and poor neighborhoods of the capital Tegucigalpa since 1968. Save the Children Honduras has five offices distributed in the central and southern areas of the country. Programs in Honduras are spread over a geographic area that includes the departments of Intibuca, Choluteca, Valle and Francisco Morazan. In Honduras, Save the Children/US works in close partnership with Save the Children/Honduras on two main programs: Progresa (a Development Assistance Program), and RICA (Regional Initiative for Central America). Save the Children hopes to create lasting, positive change in the lives of children in need, with the active participation of government partners, other non-governmental organizations, communities, families, and any others who take care of children. Country Challenge Lifeline boy, 6 year-old Armando Dominguez washes up with his classmates after a meal at his school. Honduras is a country of 6.5 million people and despite favorable conditions, does not grow enough food to support itself. Honduras struggles with high poverty rates and 60 percent of Central America’s HIV/AIDS cases. Positive growth over the years has been overshadowed by natural disasters, falling international markets, uneven distribution of wealth, and degradation of the environment. People living in rural areas would need 2.3 times the average salary in order to be properly nourished. Children in rural areas often suffer from malnutrition, iron deficiencies and low birth weight. Current Programs Food security: PROGRESA, a Spanish acronym for Food Security Rural Management Project, is an innovative five-year (2005-2009) Food Security initiative operating in the South-West portion of Honduras. PROGRESSA aims to reduce food insecurity in highly vulnerable communities in south-central Hondurasthrough activities designed to increase access, availability, and utilization of food, and decrease vulnerability to shocks that threaten people’s livelihoods. The program’s goals are: to improve maternal and child health and nutrition, improve food production and marketing, and improve natural resource management, for a total population of 20,350 persons over the life of the program including 9,640 women and children under 2 years of age. The overall program impact will be measured by the reduction in chronic malnutrition rates of children 6-23 months of age. RICA works in various communities in Honduras (54 additional communities in Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador) focusing on early childhood development and primary education in the early grades. Early childhood development centers, run primarily by teachers and community volunteers, provide young children the opportunity to "learn by doing" in environments that are nurturing and fun. A highly nutritional daily snack is included for participating children. The education programs, in partnership with local communities and governments, have helped construct multiple schools and increased school attendance by promoting individual and community benefits of education. Future Plans According to the Commission of Economic Studies for Latin America (CEPAL), Honduras has the slowest progress in Central America and more long term assistance is required to expand initiatives similar to PROGRESA, including environmental protection activities not included in PROGRESA that would greatly benefit the population of this area. Save the Children remains committed to this and future programs aimed at improving the lives of children in Honduras.