COVID-19 IN HONDURAS

September 30, 2020

In the midst of COVID-19 challenges, ASJ continues to do justice in communities and at the national level in Honduras.

As of August 2020, Latin America was quickly becoming the global epicenter of COVID-19 – the region accounts for only 8% of the world’s population, but it has accounted for 30% of global fatalities.

In Honduras, the first cases of COVID-19 were reported on March 11, 2020, and within a few days, the country went into strict lockdown. Non-essential businesses were shut down, and citizens were restricted to leave their homes only once every two weeks. Many Hondurans, who were already struggling with unemployment and poverty, have struggled to put food on the table or have even been forced into homelessness. This graph from Our World in Data shows how the number of COVID-19 cases in Honduras has grown since the initial outbreak.

Honduras has an extremely weak health system, which prevents those with coronavirus from receiving proper treatment. Over 80% of Hondurans use only public hospitals and clinics when they are sick, but corruption and government inefficiencies have crippled the health system. Some coronavirus patients have been turned away from hospitals that are too full to care for more patients.

How We're Responding

We continue to stand up for justice in Honduras, even in the midst of COVID-19. Learn how we’re doing justice.

Supporting Vulnerable Communities

We are working to support the most vulnerable in the communities we’ve been working in for over 15 years.

When the lockdown began in Honduras, we knew that poor families would need immediate help to continue to put food on the table. Many families are unable to work due to the lockdown, while other families don’t have the financial resources to buy enough food to last them for a few weeks. In the target communities where we work in Tegucigalpa, we have distributed food supplies to hundreds of families to meet this immediate need.

Our team of psychologists has also opened a hotline in Honduras to support anyone struggling with anxiety, stress, or other mental health issues during quarantine.

Normally, our Strong Communities programs have weekly meetings where vulnerable youth are able to grow through service-learning and leadership-building activities. While groups aren’t able to meet in person, our community mentors now hold meetings through WhatsApp with 300 youth, providing emotional support to them and their families.

Helping Students Get Back to School

“Not all students can have access to internet.” – Javier, 17 years old

“My mom chose to pull my little brother out of school this year, because of lack of communication from the teacher.” – Cristian, 23 years old

“I have helped my little neighbors by tutoring them. We should be asking the Ministry of Education to promote literacy again.” – Edna, 14 years old

We are working with organizations like World Vision and Compassion International to ask the Ministry of Education to better plan, invest, and coordinate with communities in order to serve students. We’re advocating for creative solutions, like the use of radio and TV to access more students, that will prevent public school students from falling behind in their studies or leaving school altogether.

Given Honduras’s weak health system, ASJ has worked to ensure that Hondurans can have access to quality and affordable care. We were invited by the Honduran government to audit its emergency purchase processes during the COVID-19 health crisis in light of our ongoing work to audit government institutions. This included medical equipment like test kits, ventilators, mobile hospitals, and gear for medical workers. We started this work because we know that in times of crisis, it is even more important that public funds support those who are most vulnerable.

However, as we evaluated the prices, quality, and delivery of these purchases, we were saddened to find the government’s actions fall short. Hugely overpriced contracts and suspected corruption have led to an investigation of the Honduran authorities in charge of purchasing. We’ve seen the impact of this negligence firsthand as numerous Honduran colleagues have fallen sick with COVID-19 and as some of their family members have died.

Now, we’re calling for a team of national and international experts to meet weekly to design and implement a clear national strategy that carries Honduras through COVID-19 and recovery. We continue to advocate for Honduras’ leaders to provide widespread, affordable preventative materials and medical care to Hondurans.

Updated September 2020

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ASJ-US and ASJ-Canada Joint Statement on Honduran Elections

December 2, 2025

ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People, Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US

Artisans of Fraternity, Guardians of Hope

November 28, 2025

A call to action for Honduras

November 2025 ASJ-US Statement about Honduran Elections

By Elizabeth Hickel • November 25, 2025

The Association for a More Justice Society-US Supports the Network to Defend Democracy; Calls for Free and Fair Elections in Honduras November 25, 2025

Context Updates on the 2025 Elections in Honduras

November 13, 2025

Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections

HOPE

By Elizabeth Hickel • November 12, 2025

Dear friend, I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.