The most vulnerable regions of seven of the 18 departments of Honduras, hit by drought resulting from the El Niño climate phenomenon, this month are receiving the first round of food aid coordinated by national and international emergency agencies. Julio Cruz, of the Permanent Committee for Contingencies, told Tierramérica that initially around 19,000 sacks of rice and 16,000 of beans will be distributed in the departments of Lempira, Intibucá and La Paz (in the west), Valle, Choluteca and El Paraíso (in the south), and Francisco Morazán (central).

The effort is being coordinated with the World Food Program and it is estimated that 100,000 people are directly affected by the drought, he said.

With the first rains of the year predicted for mid-June, the aim is to prevent widespread hunger in the affected areas.