More than 66% of Hondurans live below the national poverty line [1], and 46% are in extreme poverty. One in four children is undernourished, and is at risk of stunted growth. Considered to be among the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (based on a study covering the period 1997-2016) [2], poverty levels are found most acute in the Corredor Seco (Dry Corridor) with 58% of children under five suffering from chronic undernutrition [3].

ACS-PROSASUR is a five-year consortium project that started in January 2017, with the objective to uplift 12,000 households out of extreme poverty. Strategies range from searching for ways to increase agricultural productivity, to improving maternal and child health, including nutritional services and basic sanitation conditions for households. The project is supervised by the Government of Honduras through INVEST-H (Honduras strategic investments) and the World Bank, and receives funding from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP). It is being implemented by two consortia.

Organised in two clusters, the first is co-led by CARE and World Vision, which works in 13 municipalities (combined) in the south of Francisco Morazan, north of Choluteca and east of El Paraiso. The second cluster, led by Creative Associates International, involves SNV and El Zamorano, and is active in nine municipalities in Choluteca, and three municipalities in the south of El Paraiso.

Within ACS-PROSASUR, SNV carries out activities related to hygiene and sanitation: subcomponent 2.2 "Hygiene and Nutrition in the Home to improve the health status in homes". As part of its focus, SNV is:

• introducing good sanitation and hygiene practices, based on the Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All (SSH4A) integrated approach;

• strengthening the principle of inclusivity in business design and planning; and

• enhancing public and private partnerships around household-level hygiene and sanitation technologies such as: latrines, water filters, water harvesting systems, improved stoves, etc.

Subcomponent 2.2 works in partnership with 2,000 households across 12 municipalities. Through the project, SNV helps to create an environment that enables small investments to finance facility and infrastructure development within households. And as a direct consequence, contributing to households' improved access to health and nutrition.

*In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project additionally lent support to national efforts to prevent disease spread. To this end, the project team adopted and introduced minor modifications to SNV in Tanzania's foot-operated handwashing device for distribution in parts of Honduras.*

Notes
[1] Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE, National Institute of Statistics).
[2] See Eckstein, Künzel and Schäfer (2018). Global Climate Risk Index 2018: Who Suffers Most From Extreme Weather Events? Weather-related Loss Events in 2016 and 1997 to 2016. Bonn: Germanwatch e.V.
[3] Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE, National Institute of Statistics).