Through March 2021, at least 2.9 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) and therefore require urgent action. Of these people, 614,000 are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). The entire country has been classified in IPC Phase 3, with the departments with the greatest severity being: Cortés (41%), Yoro and Valle (35%), and with the greatest magnitude: Cortés (732,000 people in IPC Phase 3 or above), Francisco Morazán (469,000 people), and Yoro (221,000 people).

In the first projection period of April to June 2021, the population in IPC Phase 3 or above will likely increase to about 3.1 million, and to 3.3 million in the second projection period of July to September 2021. The severity of acute food insecurity has reached unprecedented levels and the IPC analysis projects that the situation will worsen in the coming months.

The main causes of this worrying situation are the heavy losses caused by category 4 hurricanes Eta and Iota in November 2020, which destroyed homes and livelihoods, as well as income losses due to mobility and transport restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In both projection periods, the situation of acute food insecurity will likely be exacerbated by a persistent lack of employment, depletion of food reserves, rising food prices, and the possibility of exacerbation of COVID-19 measures due to the seasonal lean season expected by the end of the second projection. These conditions could lead to the persistence of Crisis and Emergency coping strategies in affected households.

• Identify at departmental and municipal levels populations where a higher proportion of households have depleted their reserves and are employing Crisis or Emergency strategies. In these areas, priority response objectives should be geared towards protecting livelihoods and reducing food consumption gaps in households in food Crisis or Emergency conditions (IPC Phase 3 or above). In addition, risk reduction actions defined with local actors, municipalities and commonwealths should be pursued.
• Prioritise and strengthen the immediate inter-institutional social protection response mechanisms already established in populations in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) to reduce food consumption gaps and save lives.
• Provide support to the communities most affected by hurricanes Eta and Iota by contributing to their recovery, identifying immediate needs and with prompt local solutions, through the support of cooperation agencies and governmental aid mechanisms.
• Elaborate and implement a short-term investment plan to recover sources of employment in highly vulnerable populations in terms of food and nutritional security.
• Define and promote a medium-term work strategy aimed at strengthening resilience, reducing risks and protecting the livelihoods of the population in situations of Stressed, Crisis or Emergency (IPC Phases 2, 3 or 4).
• Evaluate the national and territorial economic reactivation plans 2021, where the populations affected (temporary day labour, informal trade) by the current COVID-19 pandemic could find opportunities in new projects.