Honduras Addresses Health Crisis with Trust Fund Amidst Medicine Shortages and Surgical Backlog

The Honduran government, under President Nasry Asfura, has approved a 500 million lempiras (approximately $18.7 million) trust fund to tackle a national health crisis. This initiative aims to alleviate medicine shortages, reduce a significant surgical backlog estimated at 13,000 to 20,000 patients, and restore the operational capacity of public hospitals. The president initially took charge of the health portfolio and declared a state of emergency to implement these measures, though critics have raised concerns about potential healthcare privatization.