Comayagua, Honduras – Delegations from ten Latin American and Caribbean nations convened Wednesday in Comayagua, Honduras, to address widespread lack of access to potable water and sanitation, issues organizers say directly contribute to child malnutrition across the region.
The meeting, formally titled the Regional Forum on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), aims to foster collaborative plans for delivering clean water and basic sanitation to vulnerable communities, according to Jorge Galeano, director of World Vision for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. “We seek to design a joint working model that allows us to join forces and mobilise funding and technical support to solve the water problem,” Galeano told EFE news agency.
Participating countries include Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States. Representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Food Programme (WFP) are also in attendance.
A key component of the forum is the presentation of the “Agua Nexus” initiative, described as an innovation laboratory intended to attract funding and technical solutions for geographically challenging areas, ranging from arid landscapes to mountainous regions. Organizers emphasized that despite regional progress, a substantial portion of the population still lacks consistent access to drinking water and sanitation, particularly in rural and impoverished areas.
World Vision Honduras is currently undertaking a significant WASH project, aiming to reach 650,000 people with improved water, hygiene, and sanitation access over the next five years. This initiative focuses on expanding access to sustainable and clean water sources in homes, schools, and health centers. The organization is also working to improve sanitation facilities, promote hygiene education, and support the long-term sustainability of water resources through capacity building for community leadership and local authorities.
World Vision’s WASH efforts in Honduras are supported by a network of partners, including local governments, commonwealths, government institutions, Movimiento para todos por siempre, Fundación Rotaria, Living Water International, Water for people, Water Mision International, WEFTA, Franciscan Sisters, and donors from World Vision USA. Current operations are concentrated in the departments of El Paraíso, Francisco Morazán, Choluteca, Intibucá, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Copán, Santa Bárbara, Yoro and Atlántida.
A recent joint project between World Vision and Rotary International, the Safe Water Honduras project, has already provided clean water to over 7,000 people across 13 communities, 10 schools, and five healthcare units, with a co-investment of $1 million. The partnership, spanning more than two decades, has mobilized over $50 million in co-investments, reaching more than 5 million people globally.
In a related development, 49 municipalities in Honduras have united to address water issues, with 16 recognized for their advancements in water, sanitation, and hygiene at the 2025 WASH Forum. All 49 municipalities with ongoing WASH interventions signed an agreement during the forum, the details of which have not yet been publicly released.
