Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Honduras is a lower-middle income country in Central America, with over 66% of its population living in poverty. High levels of poverty limit family’s ability to eat nutritious, minimally processed meals. The national prevalence of children under-five with stunting, wasting and overweight is 22.6%, 1.4% and 5.2%, respectively. Among older children and adolescents, 11.7% are classified with undernutrition, 27.3% with overweight and 9.6% with obesity. The expected incidence of childhood cancer in Honduras is about 450 cases per year.

IIPAN Center & Collaborators

The IIPAN site for Honduras is the Hospital Escuela Universitario located in the capital of Honduras and is the only academic hospital that provides care to children and adolescents with cancer. The hospital provides care to nearly all of the children diagnosed with childhood cancer in Honduras with approximately 400 new diagnoses each year. Hospital Escuela Universitario has two satellite hospitals located in San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. IIPAN provides incremental support to each institution.

Dr. Ligia Fu is the collaborating IIPAN physician. Under her supervision is the IIPAN nutritionist, Stephany Zelaya Sagastizado, who has been trained to implement the recommended IIPAN protocols.  Stephany leads the development of clinical care protocols for the inpatient and outpatient setting and provides nutritional education seminars for the patients living in temporary housing (albergues). Stephany serves as the sole nutritionist for children with cancer in Hospital Escuela and collaborating centers.

Site Challenges

• Poor hospital infrastructure and limited support of the food service department.
• Access to clean water in and out of the hospital.
• Risk of micronutrient deficiencies due to limited variety of food.
• Limited access to essential nutritional supplies.

Site Needs

• Improved variety of food options for children.
• Improved quality of water for the outpatient and inpatient setting.
• Consistent supplies for medical nutrition therapy, including RUTF, F-75, F-100, specialized formulas, multivitamin micronutrient powder, total parenteral nutrition.
• Family and patient education on basics in nutrition.
• Increasing prevalence of obesity.