Overview

From November 2019 to February 2020, about 962,000 people are in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or in more severe Phases and therefore require urgent action. This figure will likely increase to 1.22 million between March and June 2020. Until February 2020, the departments classified in IPC Phase 3 are El Paraíso, Francisco Morazán (except central district), Intibucá, La Paz, Copán, Choluteca and Valle. In the projection period, the departments of Comayagua, Lempira, Ocotepeque and Santa Bárbara have also been classified in IPC Phase 3. The population most affected consists mainly of subsistence farmers who have lost more than 50% of their basic grains and who are forced to use Crisis and Emergency coping strategies to bridge their food gaps, such as migration. In this group, food expenditures may represent more than 75% of total expenditures.

Key Drivers

In the most affected areas, the prolonged drought has caused losses in the first crop of maize and beans, affecting the reserve of grains in households and access to the purchase of other foods.  The decrease in international coffee prices affects the income of coffee growers and consequently the families of cutters who work by the day as it forces the former to lower the price of labor or to do without it. Other factors are the rise in prices of basic grains, migration and the low yield of beans expected in the last cycle that could be affected by the cold fronts. 

Populations and municipalities in which a greater proportion of households have exhausted their reserves and are employing Crisis and Emergency strategies should be identified and targeted. They should carry out interventions and strategic actions of food aid and other types that are defined in the Government Action Plans in coordination with national and international actors and institutions. Priority response objectives should be geared towards protecting livelihoods and reducing household food consumption gaps of those in Phases 3 and 4, and continue with actions for risk reduction and livelihood protection. Specific response actions will be defined with local, municipal and commonwealth actors; short-term programmes and projects.