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Honduras   Why children in Honduras need your helpDespite recent progress and economic improvements, Honduras remains one of the poorest counties in the western hemisphere. It is a lush, vast territory whose people are affected by unpredictable weather conditions that impact on farming, and ultimately, livelihoods.
Honduras has a young population; with 50 per cent of people under the age of 19. However, poverty, chronic unemployment and the financial lure of drug trafficking are among many factors that have driven a growing crime wave, fuelled by youth gangs known as "maras". These groups use threats and violence to maintain control over poor districts in many towns and cities across the country. Country factsFormerly known as Spanish Honduras, Honduras is now a democratic republic that was dominated by the military until the mid-1980s. In 1993, the Honduras government set up a commission to investigate alleged human rights violations by the military, and in 1993 rights activist Carlos Reina was elected president. Reina pledged to reform a judicial system and limit the power of armed forces. In 1995, the first military officers were charged with human rights offences, and in 1998 the control of police was transferred from military to civilian authorities. However, reports of rights abuses continued. In 1998, Honduras was devastated by Hurricane Mitch, which killed around 5,000 people and destroyed 70 per cent of the country's crops, setting the country's development back by decades. In 2001, the UN called on the Honduran government to put a stop to the extrajudicial killings of hundreds of children and teenagers. Then, in 2002, Ricardo Maduro inaugurated as president. He says armed forces will play a greater role in fighting crime, an announcement which receives condemnation both at home and abroad.
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Sixty eight per cent
of the population are considered poor, 75 per cent of whom live
in rural regions of the country. Malnutrition, poor sanitation,
inadequate housing and childhood diseases are widespread, despite
a drop in child mortality rates, which fell from 50 per 1,000
live births to 34 between 1990 and 2000.
