The United Nations and its partner agencies in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras on Wednesday launched this year's humanitarian response plans to assist 2.2 million people in need, seeking a total of US$306 million. The three countries continue to face violence, food insecurity, extreme weather events and mixed movements of refugees and migrants, with more than 4.6 million people in need of humanitarian aid in 2025.
Although some improvements in security are reported in 2024, widespread violence has created humanitarian and protection needs that are at times equivalent to war zones. Consequences include forced displacement, movement restrictions or confinement, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), forced recruitment, including of children, extortion, and barriers to accessing essential services and livelihoods.
Northern Central America (NCA) - also known as the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) - is a sub-region that includes El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and remains one of the most dangerous places in the world, despite reported declines in homicide rates in El Salvador and Honduras.
Since 2015, gang violence, threats, extortion, persecution, and sexual violence have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in search of safety, either displacing them within their country or forcing them to seek refuge in other countries.
El Salvador
In El Salvador, the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), coordinated by the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), aims to reach 400,000 of the most vulnerable people – about 50 percent of those in need of assistance – at a cost of $67 million.
The country is facing a humanitarian crisis characterized by the combined threats of extreme weather, violence, mixed migration and displacement, as well as persistent food insecurity, exacerbated by global economic pressures and rising inflation. The country's vulnerability to climate-related disruptions remains high.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the transition from the El Niño to La Niña phenomenon has led to erratic climate patterns, with a severe drought in 2023 followed by intense rains in 2024, pushing up food insecurity rates.
The country is regularly exposed to extreme weather events such as tropical storms, hurricanes, droughts, as well as other natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. These threats, as well as migration, displacement and return of migrants, require a comprehensive humanitarian effort.
Meanwhile, authorities in El Salvador continue to commit widespread human rights violations. In March 2022, El Salvador's Legislative Assembly declared a state of emergency and suspended basic human rights in response to gang violence. The state of emergency remained in place in 2024.
Punitive and militarized responses resulted in some cases in serious human rights violations. In 2023 and 2024, violent incidents in El Salvador decreased, allowing greater access to communities previously controlled by gangs.
According to the rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW), the country's longstanding high homicide rate, which peaked at 105 per 100,000 people in 2015, has declined sharply since 2019, reaching a historic low in 2023.
For decades, gangs have exercised territorial control over areas throughout the country, committing murders, forced recruitment of children, rape and sexual assault, kidnapping, extortion, and displacement.
Human movement is another major driver of humanitarian needs in El Salvador. As a country of origin and transit for migrants and refugees, El Salvador has seen thousands of people leave the country in search of economic stability and better living conditions.
Guatemala
In Guatemala, where the crisis is most severe in areas affected by climate shocks and mixed migration, the HRP seeks $100 million to help 1 million people. Guatemala's humanitarian crisis, fueled by food insecurity, requires urgent international support.
According to OCHA, Guatemala is facing a multifaceted humanitarian crisis driven by systemic poverty, food insecurity, climate-related disruptions to agriculture, acute malnutrition, and increased movement of people. These challenges, compounded by recent environmental and economic shocks, necessitate immediate and coordinated action to alleviate human suffering.
The crisis primarily affects areas impacted by climate events and mixed movements of people. Between January and September 2024, 223,000 people entered Guatemala. Disruptions have affected 9.2 million people, leading to food shortages and price increases that exacerbate malnutrition.
Currently, 2.9 million people face crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse levels of food insecurity, with 386,000 in emergency levels (IPC Phase 4). Food insecurity and malnutrition reinforce a vicious cycle that heightens vulnerability to disease, reduces productivity, and deepens poverty.
Acute and chronic malnutrition affect children at alarming rates. More than 25,000 cases of acute child malnutrition have been reported by government officials. According to official figures, chronic malnutrition affects nearly 50 percent of children under the age of five.
Honduras
Honduras has been one of the most violent countries in the world for years, with police reporting 3,035 murders in 2023, representing a homicide rate of 31 per 100,000 people. Between January and September 2024, preliminary data shows a 26 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2023.
A state of emergency declared in December 2022 to combat extortion and related violent crimes has been extended more than a dozen times and is still in effect, suspending several human and civil rights, including the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly.
In Honduras, violence and climate-related risks persist amid high levels of poverty and inequality. The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan, prepared by the Humanitarian Network of more than 65 national and international organizations, seeks nearly $140 million to support 800,000 vulnerable people out of 1.6 million in need.
Honduras is also grappling with a crisis of food insecurity that threatens people in the most vulnerable regions. Despite a slight improvement from 2023, the outlook for food insecurity remains dire due to climate-related events.
The 2024 hurricane season brought above-average rainfall that affected southern and western Honduras, particularly areas in the Dry Corridor that already suffer from drought and erratic rainfall patterns. Forecasts indicate that the food crisis will worsen, with an additional 474,000 people likely to fall into crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity.
More than 247,000 people have been internally displaced due to violence and poverty. As a transit country, Honduras has received nearly 360,000 refugees and migrants through its southeastern border between January and December 2024, including a large number of children. Approximately 45,000 Hondurans were deported to the country in 2024.
Honduras continues to face the effects of violence, forced displacement, gender-based violence (GBV), and high rates of inequality that disproportionately affect women, children, indigenous peoples, people of African descent, members of the LGBTIQ+ community, and people with disabilities.
Despite a slight decline in the national homicide rate, violence continues to create significant humanitarian needs in Honduras. In the first half of 2024, more than 200 cases of missing persons were recorded, with a record 30 disappearances reported in June alone.
Gender-based violence is particularly prevalent and is a major driver of forced displacement. Reports indicate an average of two violent deaths of children every 24 hours, while cases of forced recruitment and exploitation of minors have risen.
North of Central America
Extreme levels of violence in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are shattering lives and exacerbating humanitarian needs. Throughout the North of Central America, heavily armed gangs, drug traffickers and transnational criminal organizations continue to promote societal corruption and gender-based violence.
Crime and extreme violence driven by gangs and drug cartels, as well as weak institutions, are responsible for much of the displacement in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The situation is exacerbated by inequalities and the impact of climate-related disasters.
In a world where climate change impacts are manifesting themselves with increasing intensity, countries such as those in northern Central America are facing serious challenges that can hinder their development and severely damage the livelihoods of their populations.