In 2019, MSF continued in Honduras to deliver comprehensive care to victims of violence, including sexual violence, in the capital, Tegucigalpa. Our teams provide medical treatment for rape, including post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV and hepatitis B infection, and treatment for other sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis. Counselling, group therapy and psychological first aid are also available. 

Another team at a mother and child clinic in Choloma assists births and offers family planning, ante- and postnatal consultations and psychological support to victims of violence, including sexual violence. Health promotion teams in this industrial city visit sites such as factories and schools to raise awareness of the clinic’s services and provide information about sexual and reproductive health for adolescents.  

We continue to advocate access to comprehensive medical care for victims of sexual violence in Honduras, where emergency contraception is still banned.  

During eight months in 2019, we responded to a dengue fever emergency in the north, mainly in Cortés department. In February, we deployed a team to support the paediatric dengue unit at the National Hospital Mario Catarino Rivas in San Pedro Sula city. Between February and April, as the number of cases kept growing, we triaged patients with a fever and fast-tracked them to the dengue unit. We also deployed staff to four general healthcare centres in Choloma, to take care of patients who did not need to be admitted to hospital.