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What happened, where and when?
On April 20, 2024, a devastating fire destroyed the public hospital in Roatan, located in Coxen Hole, Bay Islands, 56 kilometers off the Atlantic coast of Honduras. The building, mainly made of wood, was completely consumed by the flames, resulting in losses estimated by the Ministry of Health (Sesal) at 14 million Lempiras (approximately 500,000 CHF) in supplies and medicines (1). Since the emergency caused by the fire exceeded the local response capacity, on April 26th, the Honduran Red Cross received a formal request for support from the Government, specifically from the Departmental Health Region of Islas de la Bahia.
All patients were evacuated in time and transferred to private medical centers on the island. The most critical cases were supported by the Air Force and transferred to national hospitals in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula.
In response to the catastrophe, on the same day of the incident, the Health Secretariat (SESAL) declared a health emergency in Roatan and activated a crisis committee to address the situation (2). In addition, an urgent call has been made to strengthen collaboration between state entities, local authorities, and organizations such as the Honduran Red Cross, which are present in the country. This joint effort aims to overcome the emergency and restore the health and well-being of the affected community.